


Knock on Wood Konoha

by llewellynprince



Category: Naruto
Genre: Aburame Clan, Angst, BAMF!Iruka, Curse of Hatred, F/M, Gen, Hatred, Humor, Hunter Nin, Inuzuka Clan, Love, M/M, Multi, Mystery, Nobody is dying correctly!!, People just don't stay dead!, Resurrection, Secrets, Senju Clan - Freeform, Uchiha Clan - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-23
Updated: 2015-08-04
Packaged: 2018-02-22 09:04:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 62,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2502179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/llewellynprince/pseuds/llewellynprince
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Naruto makes a dangerous choice to protect someone he cares about and finds allies he never knew he had. Meanwhile a string of resurrections bring the past to the forefront and forces old hatreds into the present and Iruka struggles with the family legacy left to him. Now they must find a way to save Konoha from annihilation.</p><p>Note: Now beta'd by the lovely Sorrow_Key!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Shi o motarasu odayakana yuki

**Author's Note:**

> Note 1: So, after several years away from writing I have returned! I am currently in the process of reviewing and in some cases rewriting my stories. In regards to Knock on Wood Konoha, I’ve changed pretty much everything…
> 
> Note 2: This story starts after the defeat of Kaguya and Naruto and Sasuke enter the Valley of the End for their final battle. This story is built on the premises that they were left to conduct their battle and the rest of the Shinobi Nations went to work rebuilding after the Fourth Shinobi World War. The Alliance still stands and in essence life has gone back to the way it was. Though I have kept up with the plot of the series I haven’t read everything so please let me know if there is something I need to address. 
> 
> As always comments and constructive criticisms are welcomed! I don’t currently have a beta reader so bear with me!
> 
> I don’t own anything but the plot line, there are elements from other series like Bleach and Shadow Skill but these are mostly fighting techniques and skills I thought would be cool and I don’t own those either.

ooo000ooo

Prologue  
Shi o motarasu odayakana yuki  
a gentle falling snow that brings death

Victory is an illusion, the enemy hides in a dark corner waiting to attack.  
Unknown

ooo000ooo

This was not how she thought it was going to end. 

Things hadn’t seemed so bad when they’d been planning, in the months leading up to this fight. They’d had a fighting chance, still high on the strength from the battle against Kaguya.

She didn’t remember him being this strong. He’d been defeated before and he’d lost the majority of those loyal to him. 

Maybe they’d gotten soft? But so quickly after the Fourth Shinobi World War? She’d thought they’d last longer than that. They’d lost so much in that fight and had only just begun to recover. Maybe she had been foolish for hoping that the rest of her reign as Hokage would be relatively peaceful. Let the next one have the next war.

How had this happened? There’s a tint of desperation to her thoughts now. Jiraiya was bleeding all over her as she dragged him away from the front line. Even half conscious he was still trying to get back to the fight. 

Out of the corner of her eye she can see Iruka coughing up blood in Obito’s arms as Yajirobi worked frantically to stall the blood, while Kakashi stood guard over them. But Kakashi was barely standing, his body and chakra exhausted. She could feel the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan draining what was left. She felt a brief flare of hatred for the kekkai genkei that had brought so much pain, but that flare was swiftly doused by the reminder that it had birthed shinobi so loyal they couldn’t even die correctly.

Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura weren’t far from their teacher, but Sasuke was down, brought to his knees by a blow meant for Naruto. Sakura was frantically trying to staunch the flow of blood and Naruto was defending them with what he had left, Kurama at his side. But both Naruto and his summoning were distracted and kept glancing over to check on Iruka. 

Itachi and Kabuto were side by side as always, not far from Naruto and Sasuke. Close enough for Itachi to keep an eye on his baby brother as they fought. The calm viciousness of Kabuto that had always terrified her was one of their best defenses now.

Shisui was just a step away, a step behind Kikyo and Minato who were reading for another attack and the blind shinobi was still looking for an opening to strike. Kikyo and Minato were the only part of the front line with any significant chakra reserves left to fight. But Kikyo’s shunko was fading and so was Minato’s speed. They were going to start taking serious damage soon.

Tenten and Lee were attempting to hold the right end of the line by themselves, Genma and Raido were too badly injured to stand, not that they weren’t trying and Gai was attempting to pull them back from the fight on broken legs. Asuma was frantically trying to heal Kurenai, down from a blow meant for her former students and Asuma himself.

Neji was trying to help his former team but he was still blinded by an earlier attack. Hinata refused to leave Neji’s side and Hanabi refused to leave her sister. Ibiki and Shizune were trying to treat Naji’s eyes while Anko and Kotetsu stood several steps ahead of them, attempting to be a wall between the injured and their attacker. 

Tsume and Shibi stood next to Anko and Kotetsu, flanked by Kiba and Shino. The two former Hanta Nins had taken their promise to Hiashi seriously and hadn’t strayed far from the three young Hyuugas. 

Choji had used his family’s famous technique alongside Ino to shield Shikamaru, whose shadow holding technique was the only thing holding back their opponent. Temari and Kankuro were guarding Gaara nearby, who sand was preventing their battle from leaking out into the village. Izumo was with Gaara attempting to add his darkness to the shield without loosing control.

What was left of their ANBU and Root backup were working on saving their own injured and there was no one left to spare for the front line, though Sai was doing his best to lead a few back towards them.

Tsunade hadn’t been Hokage for very long, she was still figuring it out, but she was hard pressed to think of a worse situation in the history on Konoha. Even with the battle against first Obito then Kaguya that had managed to actually unite the Shinobi Nations, the odds had never felt this bad. What would Hashirama and Tobirama have done? Sandamine? She was shocked to realize that at that moment, rather then any Hokage that had come before her, who she really wanted was Madara. Or Fugaku. Obito was here and so were Iruka and Itachi and Shisui and Sasuke but they were wrapped up in one another and so, so angry. Their fight was personal and turned towards protecting one another and how sad was it that they felt they had to protect one another against the world because no one had ever been on their side before.

Tsunade wanted to scream her frustration at the sky but she couldn’t see it at the moment because of Gaara’s sand shield. It probably wouldn’t have looked very good if she had, watching their Hokage screaming nonsense because she couldn’t figure out a way to win wouldn’t have inspired much confidence and Tsunade would likely loose what few supporters she had left in the government.

They were loosing ground and shinobi fast. They’d managed to keep the fight contained within Gaara’s sand but there was no telling how long it would be able to hold out. Most of Konohagakure was unaware of the battle currently taking place and Tsunade had dedicated most of the Hidden Leaf’s shinobi to making sure the rest of the village was safe. 

They were on their own to win this fight.

How had it gotten to this point? 

ooo000ooo


	2. Henka o motarasu sawayakana kaze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto returns, Kakashi remembers, and Tsunade faces the council.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I own nothing.

ooo000ooo

Chapter 1  
Henka o motarasu sawayakana kaze  
A bracing wind that brings change

In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.  
Martin Luther King Jr.

ooo000ooo

: :Hokage’s Office, Konohagakure: :

Kakashi leaned back further into the wall and glanced at the clock above the door. They’d been here for two hours already and it didn’t look like the meeting was going to end anytime soon. He’d tried pulling out his beloved Icha Icha but the look on Tsunade’s face, righteous fury tinted with a deep sadness, had made him think twice. As much as the fiery Hokage insisted she was fine, Kakashi sensed that the death of her former teammate had struck deeper then even she’d been expecting. Jiraiya had always been larger then life and it was hard to accept that he wasn’t going to be around any more. Tsunade hadn’t had time to morn until now and Kakashi knew what it felt like to suddenly have nothing but time on your hands to wonder about what you could have done differently. He imagined there were a lot of Konoha shinobi feeling the same way right now.

Kurenai had returned to her jounin duties, her newborn daughter cared for by her cousin in her absence. Kakashi couldn’t imagine what it was like to go home every night to a reminder of the man she’d lost. 

Gai was finally healed, but he had yet to challenge Kakashi to any kind of battle. He spent a lot of time training with TenTen and Lee, adjusting to their missing teammate. From what he’d heard from Kurenai Hinata was having a hard time adjusting as well.

Genma didn’t joke as much anymore and Raidou spent most nights at the Tower trying to catch up on work that wasn’t late yet. Ibiki and the ANBU commander had their forces working around the clock to maintain a high security level for the village, even though the war was over. 

Everyone had celebrated the end of the war but it seemed like they weren’t quite ready to actually let it go. It was understandable in a way. It had been such a big event, life altering. They’d all had a purpose, a goal and in the end it had united them. A dream no one had thought was ever attainable, but here it was. He was almost afraid to think about it, lest it turn out to be a dream that would fade away under his fingertips.

Seeing Obito and Minato-sensei, and his father even if he wasn’t real, had been…something. Kakashi couldn’t really think of a word that accurately described it. And then to find out that Obito had been working so hard on a goal that would have resulted in the destruction on Konohagakure. For a little while there Kakashi had been convinced that he was in hell and this was punishment for every life he’d ever taken and every life he’d failed to save. 

At least Obito had come back at the end, saying good-bye had done a lot for Kakashi’s mental state and his soul. Seeing his father again had been…difficult and it had been hard to stop thinking about it. The dreams hadn’t helped, taking him back to the days leading up to his father’s death and that quiet empty room his father had spent so much time in before his suicide.

ooo000ooo

: :Hatake Clan Compound, Konohagakure: :

Kakashi walked silently through the house. Training had finished early and Minato-sensei had sent everyone home with instructions to rest. Rin had asked him to dinner but Kakashi had just wanted to get home. His father’s last mission hadn’t gone well and the stress was taking its toll. It had been a failure for Konoha’s White Fang and while Minato-sensei had done his best to shield Kakashi from it he’d heard the comments. The Great White Fang had gotten soft, had let his emotions rule him and the mission had failed because of it. 

Kakashi had always idolized his father, had never questioned that he was the ideal of a Konohagakure shinobi. Learning that his father had failed a mission, on purpose, had been shocking and Kakashi had been angry. He was still angry and he knew it hurt his father, but as much as it hurt him and as sad as it made him, Sakumo refused to apologize for what had happened. He kept saying I brought them back alive, that’s what mattered and Kakashi yelled back that he’d failed the mission, that was what mattered.

Minato-sensei had been surprising quiet about the whole thing, carefully maintaining the middle ground whenever Kakashi and Obito started arguing. The Uchiha was firmly on Sakumo’s side and he and Kakashi had gotten into several brutal fights that Minato and Rin had had to break up. The young Uchiha had repeatedly stated that bringing your team back alive was the most important mission of a shinobi, which showed just how soft he was. It made Kakashi even more upset at the situation. 

He sighed, dropped his gear neatly on the table in his room before wandering through the house, looking for his father. The rain was failing in sheets when he found him, sitting quietly in one of the far rooms with lots of windows. He was silent, his blade on floor next to him, watching the rainfall onto the world outside. A single torch burned, casting the room in shadows and making the silence all the more oppressive. Kakashi entered silently and knelt next to his father.

“How was training?” Sakumo’s voice was tired. It seemed like he was always tired these days.

“Fine.” Kakashi’s answer was short, clipped, angry. 

Sakumo smiled sadly. “Did you learn anything?

“Some. Minato-sensei called it a day early, told everyone to rest.”

“Oh, that was good of him.”

“Che, it’s a waste of time.” Kakashi was training to be a shinobi, not to take the day off. 

Sakumo glanced at him, though he had a small smile on his face, his expression was sad. “You have to have some good times Kakashi, otherwise, what are you fighting for?”

“The village,” Kakashi responded instantly. 

Sakumo’s smile fell away. “Yes, the village.” His eyes fell to a small cup of flowers, beautiful chrysanthemums in a deep blue hue. They were rare, Kakashi had only seen that color grow in the Uchiha’s gardens deep inside their compound. “How is Obito today? Did you two spar?”

“We fought. He thinks you were right to let the mission fail.” The anger was back, what does Obito know about carrying out missions, he’s a screw up. He has no idea what it means to be a Konohagakure ninja.

“He’s right.” Sakumo declared softy.

Kakashi turned an angry gaze on his father. “They’re calling you a failure in the Hokage’s Tower! Did you know that? They’re making fun of you and saying that you’ve lost your touch!”

“What other people think rarely matters Kakashi.” One mission and I’m already a failure huh, Sakumo let his eyes fall shut, it looks like you were right Fu, the village is falling. With his eyes shut Sakumo could here the raindrops falling, the wind howling, and Kakashi’s angry footsteps as he stood and stormed out of the room. “Kakashi.” His son stopped, Sakumo would here the wood frame of the door creak under his grip. 

“Yes father?” The distain was obvious and incredibly painful.

“Someday Kakashi, you are going to be very important to a very broken little boy, whose act of kindness will save the world. Never, ever forget that.”

Kakashi, in his anger, stormed out. Sakumo sat in silence until the torch burned out.

ooo000ooo

: :Hokage’s Office, Konohagakure: :

Kakashi blinked rapidly and pulled the sharingan back under control. Since he’d achieved the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan the memories had been coming back more often and with much more strength then they’d had before. It was hard to tell that they were just memories sometimes. On several occasions he’d woken to find the sharingan spinning wildly and the bitter taste of tears in his mouth. He needed to find a way to get it under control before it started affecting his missions. 

He forced himself to focus on the meeting. Thankfully it didn’t look like he’d missed anything important, just budget planning. He slouched further and turned his gaze to the window, surprised to see that it had starting raining, sheets of water diluting his view of the village sprawled out beyond the Hokage’s tower. His home. Kakashi new every street, every alleyway, every vendor and restaurant and bookshop. Sakumo had always believed that knowing what you were fighting for was important and part of his training with his father had always focused on the village. Before everything with Obito and Kaguya had kicked off he’d been planning to teach Team 7 the same thing. Before he’d failed so completely as their teacher. 

Someday Kakashi, you will be very important to a very broken little boy whose act of kindness will save the world. They’d been the last words his father had spoken to him. The next day when Kakashi returned he’d found his father’s dead body next to the small cup of blue chrysanthemums. For a long time he’d forgotten those words, grief and anger drowning everything else out. Now, after everything, they haunted him. Running through his head over and over and making him think about what he could have done differently.

The rain outside was just like it had been that day, a steady, rhythmic drumbeat that drowned everything else out. Someday you’ll be very important to a very broken little boy…looks like I failed that one too Obito.

ooo000ooo

: :Umino Iruka’s Apartment, Konohagakure: :

Iruka leaned back, arching over the couch behind him, sighing in pleasure as his back cracked in several places. He’d been grading papers for well over an hour and he was nowhere near finished. He took a sip of the jasmine tea he’d made earlier and winced when he realized it had gone cold. He debated standing to make another pot as he placed the cup back on the table, but for some reason he felt lazy tonight. The years were heavy on his shoulders. All the aches and pains were settling deep into his bones and brought on a weariness that shouldn’t exist in someone who was barely thirty. 

The war had ended months ago. Things were slowly returning to normal. No one had seen or heard from Naruto or Sasuke since they disappeared into the valley to continue their battle. Iruka hadn’t been happy when he’d learned they’d just been left to fight alone. Tsunade and Kakashi were convinced that Naruto would win and return to Konoha when it was over, but Iruka couldn’t help but think that Naruto, who’d always cared too much, would be more hurt by having to kill Sasuke then the others assumed. Growing up and realizing that pain was simply a part of life didn’t stop it from hurting and Naruto had a habit of feeling more then most people. He never sighed away from his emotions, something that had practically become a written law for shinobi, and instead had embraced them for the strength that they were. There were very few things that made Iruka prouder.

He glanced out his large living room windows at the brightly shining moon. Thinking about Naruto always made him think about Sasuke as well. The stoic young man was exactly what it meant to be an Uchiha. Unbelievably powerful and immensely skilled, proud and arrogant on occasion, and far, far too caring. Too sensitive and kindhearted, just like his brother. They got that from Fugaku as funny as that was. Mikoto had been a loving mother, but an iron hearted shinobi. Fugaku, despite his outward personality felt the weight of the world on his shoulders when it came to protecting his clan and family. They’d been a good match, Iruka mused, pieces of a puzzle that fit together and made a whole; a rare occurrence in the world of shinobi. Iruka had always been proud and insanely jealousy that Itachi and Sasuke had gotten to be the product of it.

Sasuke was a touchy subject in Konohagakure right now. He’d been declared a missing nin before the Fourth war, but Iruka had been hopeful they’d lift it after he’d come to their aid. Tsunade had been making noises about pardoning him if Naruto could convince him to come back but there were others in the government that wanted him dead, no questions asked. Iurka liked to think Tsunade was the kind of person that would fight them on it, but the doubt was hard to dismiss. It didn’t help that she and Iruka didn’t get along and he new exactly how underhanded the Konoha Council could be.

What he really wanted and would give pretty much anything he had to do, was beat some sense into both Naruto and Sasuke. They were still so young, though they’d both crossed the line that many considered adulthood the first time they’d taken a life. There was still so much more to it that they didn’t understand. So many experiences they hadn’t had yet. But then, Iruka had met shinobi twice his age that didn’t understand either. That was the problem with training children to be soldiers and it was what the founding of Konohagakure was supposed to stop. So much for that, Iruka had taken his first life long before his first kiss and part of the reason he’d become a teacher was to help Naruto, and all of his students really, avoid that kind of life.

Iruka sighed, it was strange that he’d gotten used to the quite. Naruto had always been so loud, so had everyone he’d trained with and his brother, but the huge apartment had been silent for years now. 

He picked up the next paper to be graded and steeled himself to continue. He would never, ever admit it but he hated grading papers. As in he’d rather be tortured or forced to help Tsunade with her paperwork for month then grade papers. 

Suddenly a gust of wind and leaves scattered Iruka’s papers across the living room. Smoke filled the room and Iruka pulled his shirt up over his nose as he waited for it to clear. Only one person had ever thought to transport directly into his living room and he smiled as the mop of spiky blond hair became visible through the smoke. 

Iruka took a deep breath, bringing out his best I-am-your-teacher-be-afraid voice. “Naurto, what have I told you about transporting into my living room?” 

The smoke cleared and Iruka’s mouth dropped open. Naruto beamed, beat up, bruised and bloody. His signature orange jumpsuit was in tatters and he was covered liberally in dirt that had once been mud and god knew what else. He was finally growing into himself, almost as tall as Iruka now, though he towered over Iruka while he was on the floor. It was like looking up at the sun. What surprised Iruka was the unconscious Uchiha over his shoulder. 

“Naruto…” Iruka felt his eye twitch. “Why are you carrying Sasuke around? And why did you come here instead of reporting to the Hokage?”

It was his creepy calm voice that usually came before a huge blow up and Naruto obviously remembered that because he went from cheerful to terrified in the blink of an eye. 

“Ah, Iruka-sensei! I…” Naruto trailed off and Iruka felt a twinge in his chest at the suddenly unsure but still determined look that took over his face. “I was worried about what they’d do to Sasuke.”

Naruto looked at him, eyes wide and liquid, the same eyes he’d used to get Iruka to take him to ramen three times a day and to let him see books and scrolls on jutsu that were supposed to be secret.

“He’s still technically a missing nin.” Iruka reminded him, voice steady and cold.

“What?! That’s bullshit, he helped us fight Kaguya!” Naruto’s tendency to get loudly and violently overprotective of those he cared about was never going to fade and that actually made warmth blossom in Iruka’s chest. “That’s not fair, everyone knows that Sasuke was just trying to figure things out! And he didn’t anything as bad as Black Zetsu or Kaguya! This isn’t fair!”

Iruka couldn’t help but let a small smile grow. “You know as well as I do that life isn’t fair. Sasuke left the village, as far as some are concerned he’s the enemy. And he was for a little while there.”

“Yeah, but he’s agreed to come back!” Naruto was so excited, slamming one foot down on Iruka’s battered coffee table and pointing a finger at Iruka. Iruka could practically see the flames of righteousness coming off of him. Iruka had a brief moment of worry for Sasuke as Naruto swung him around rather violently. “He promised, Iruka-sensei, he’s going to stay with me! We’re going to figure out what to do and then Sasuke will be okay.”

Sasuke will be okay…not the village, not the world….just Sasuke. Iruka laughed. He couldn’t help it, years later, over a fucking decade and that bastard had been right.

Naruto watched his former teacher laugh himself silly on his living room floor and frowned. “Ah, Iruka-sensei are you okay?”

Iruka pushed himself back up straight and looked Naruto dead in the eye as he grabbed his collar and pulled the boys face closer. “Naruto, why did it take you so long to come back?”

“Oh, uh, well Sasuke and I fought for a long time and then we passed out.”

“You idiots used up all your chakra didn’t you?” Iruka guessed and the guilty look on Naruto’s face said everything.

“Yes, but only because we wanted to do our best!” Which had been Naruto’s excuse for a lot stupid decisions when he was small. Always trying to get stronger and be better.

Iruka smiled. “Alright, we’ll talk about that later.” Naruto’s relief at avoiding the lecture was palpable. “What happened when you guys woke up?”

“Err, the first time we fought again.”

Of course you did. Iruka smile turned rueful. 

“The second time though we finally talked.”

“To injured to fight again?” Iruka guessed and Naruto nodded.

“Yeah, we managed to stumble to a cave and just…talked for a while. Iruka-sensei, Sasuke just wanted to help, maybe he went about it the wrong way, but if he just wanted to help, doesn’t that count for something?” 

Naruto looked so damn hopeful and innocent. Iruka sighed, “But do you understand the situation for the Hokage and the government? I know Sasuke probably does, which is what makes me think you just waited for him to pass out and then brought him back here.”

The blood draining out of Naruto’s face and the massive twitching pretty much answered Iruka’s question for him.

“Ur maybe, but the stupid teme doesn’t know what’s good for him!” Naruto yelled, the fire was back and so was Naruto’s tendency for physical expression that resulted in an unconscious Sasuke being swung around as the young shinobi swung his arms wildly. “He thinks he should die so everything will be okay, but it won’t be okay if he dies! See he’s stupid!”

“Ur, well, okay you might have a point there.” Iruka couldn’t help but agree, death never made a situation better. “What are you going to do now?”

“I’m going to protect the stupid teme and the village. No matter what happens I’m not letting the stupid the bastard quit like that”

“Right, and you don’t want him to leave you alone.” Iruka added just to see Naruto’s reaction. 

“Exactly! You were the one that always told me never to give up Iruka-sensei and I promised Sasuke that I would end that stupid curse and never give up on him!!”

Naruto pointed an accusing finger at him in the middle of his rant and all Iruka could think was, well at least something sunk in.

“Alright Naruto, I’ll tell you what. Put Sasuke in my bed and I’ll help you protect him.” Like Iruka would ever consider not helping the brat and Naruto probably knew that inside, or he wouldn’t have come to Iruka first.

Naruto’s face lit up with smile so wide it barely fit his face. “Thanks Iruka-sensei!” And he took off for Iruka’s room at the end of the hall.

“Hey, Naruto watch his head!” Iruka winced as Naruto disappeared into the bedroom. Sasuke’s head bouncing off the doorway in the process and Iruka made a mental note to dig out his pain meds and teach Naruto a proper buddy carry for injured nins. Sasuke was going to have more damage from the trip then from the actual fight.

Iruka sighed as he listened to the sounds of Naruto laying, though it sounded more like dropping Iruka was going to give him the benefit of doubt, Sasuke on the bed. It was incredible, how quickly everything could change. How just like that Naruto was back like he’d never left and he had Sasuke with him and it made Iruka want to laugh and cry hysterically at the same time.

He glanced out the window again, the moon still bright and unblinking in the night sky. The stars were brighter now and Iruka grinned. There was going to be a fight of course, when wasn’t there, but this time it would be a good one. For something real, and important with a beating heart and warm skin. Not some improbable dream that required undoing the world. For a boy this time, that made the sun shine brighter.

“Oi, Naruto, you better have taken off his dirty cloths before you put him under the blankets!”

ooo000ooo

: :Hokage’s Monument, Konohagakure: :

Tsunade sighed and kept a watchful eye on her shinobi as they headed home for the night. A few were headed out on missions, but things had been oddly slow as the village struggled to find a new normal. Kakashi especially had seemed distracted during the budget meeting and Tsunade suspected he’d be happy to shed some of his new responsibilities and return to simple jounin duties. She doubted he’d be willing to take on another genin team, given that he still blamed himself for failing to keep Team 7 together and for Sasuke’s defection. 

Sasuke…Tsunade sighed, that was a complicated situation and one that was on the minds of many. The Uchiha had come to their aid against Obito and Kaguya, but in the end had chosen to follow his own plans instead of returning to the village. Naruto, unsurprisingly, had refused to let him and now they were battling it out in the Valley of the End. Fittingly, the location of Hashirama and Madara’s great battle. Tsunade couldn’t help but wonder how that battle was going. Normally she would never have thought a battle could last this long nor would she have allowed it to happen. The battle was over by now, someone had won, Naruto hopefully, and it was just a matter of time before he returned. 

Tsunade tried not to think about it too often. She didn’t know how Naruto was going to handle Sasuke’s death, Sakura refused to talk about it with anyone and Kakashi doubted his ability to understand his students. In the end no one knew what was going to happen and Tsunade wished repeatedly that Jiraiya was still alive. He might not have had the right answer, but he had a hopeful way of looking at things that had always helped to fight off the darkness and he’d had absolute faith in Naruto. But he was gone now, just one of the many casualties of this war. That unbridled light that Tsunade had been convinced was never going to go out had been snuffed out just like all the others. She couldn’t help but be a little angry at Jiraiya for letting it happen, as irrational as that was.

Feh, that stupid prophecy he’d never shut up about, guess he was right. She looked up at the stars, blinking brightly in the night sky. Things were still tense, the Alliance was holding, though sometimes it seemed like it was only through sheer will power. It would be a long time before another war took place. Everyone was tired, recovery was going to take years and Tsunade wanted that to be her legacy. Not the war, but the rebuilding afterward. Her grandfather had built Konohagakure and now she was going to rebuild it and achieve the dream he’d always held for the village. It would be easier if everyone was on the same page, but it seemed like that was the true impossible dream. The Konoha Council was making noises about re-establishing power. Rumors that Root ANBU was still operating even though Tsunade had supported Sandamine’s decision to disband it. The Daimyo was getting old and Tsunade had no idea who he wanted as his replacement and there were those within the shinobi population who wanted advancement and power. ANBU had gotten new commander and then of course, that damn academy teacher that never agreed with her who pretty much ran the missions desk. Umino. Though apparently he hadn’t agreed with Kakashi that often either if the stories were to be believed, but Sandamine had loved him. Everyone that knew the two of them spoke of the Sandamine’s respect for the young teacher and of Umino’s fearlessness in expressing his opinion to anyone. 

He was Naruto’s precious person, according to both Kakashi and Jiraiya and Tsunade was willing to give him a lot of ground just for that but every time they encountered one another she felt like she was being judged and found wanting by a standard she wasn’t aware of. It made her defensive and Umino showed no interest in getting to know her better or to try and work things out. He seemed happy to keep their interactions to a minimum and painfully professional. It made Tsunade want to pull his hair just to get a reaction that was something other then disdain or anger. Normally she wouldn’t have cared, but she couldn’t get over the fact that Sandaimine had thought so highly of him and that many of her shinobi thought the same. His position at the academy meant he dealt with shinobi of the highest levels. She’d heard that he and Hyuuga Hiashi didn’t see eye to eye on Hiashi’s younger daughter Hanabi. He had frequent meetings with the heads all of Konoha’s clans because he taught their children, which meant he probably saw them one on one more then Tsunade did.

What the hell am I missing about that brat? Tsunade didn’t like feeling like she was missing something that should have been obvious. A twin flare of chakra pulled her out of her thoughts and Tsunade sighed.

“Lord Hokage, a moment of your time.” 

The Konoha Council, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, Hiruzen’s old teammates. If Tsunade was being brutally honest, she didn’t share the Sandamine’s level of respect for his old friends and she knew they saw her as inexperienced, young and more then a bit foolish. While things had looked to be improving in the days before and during the war, that goodwill had pretty much disappeared once the war had ended. Both Homura and Koharu wanted to make a show of power, to demonstrate that Konoha was still powerful and Tsunade suspected that they were behind the Root ANBU faction operating in Konoha. If they were it was a blatant refusal to follow Tsunade’s order, but she didn’t have any evidence to bring against them. “Yes?”

“We wanted to speak to you about the Hanta Nin.”

Hanta…hunter nin? Sandamine never spoke of them. How do they know about them? Tsunade turned. “What about them?”

“The duties of the Hanta nin are clear, they are our first line of defense. They gather information, assist the Hokage with maintaining the wards protecting the village, and carry out the execution of any nin the betrays the village.” Koharu’s voice was cold and calm as she spoke, she obviously didn’t expect Tsunade to know any of this. “They are expected to represent the ideal of a Konoha Shinobi. To help lead us in times of war. In fact, their duty, is to insure that it never comes to war.”

“And your point with all of this?” Tsunade asked, trying to stay calm. She didn’t like being lecture like an errant child.

“Our point Lord Hokage, is that they have failed.” Homura responded. “And they must be punished. As an example to the village that we have not gotten soft following the war.”

“The war just ended, no one thinks we’ve gotten soft,” Tsunade argued.

“They shirked their responsibilities,” Koharu stated, “They failed to stop Orochimaru’s defection and later attacks. They failed to stop Uchiha Itachi from killing his entire clan and they failed to apprehend him. They failed to identify Akatsuki and to stop any of their plans. Not once did they attempt to assist the village in the Fourth Shinobi World War. They have abandoned their duties and must be held accountable.”

Tsunade frowned, she couldn’t argue with that, though it was exceedingly stupid to blame anyone for all of that. The case seemed clear cut, but that made Tsunade suspect that there was something else going on. She’d never heard Hiruzen mention Hanta Nins. She knew Mist had them, but they were a corpse disposal unit and Konoha had nothing like that. Obviously the Konoha Council knew exactly who the Hanta Nins were and wanted them out of the picture. If Tsunade admitted she didn’t know their identities then the council could accuse anyone they wanted. 

This was dangerous ground. Many Konoha shinobi had broken with tradition, challenging the accepted beliefs and traditions and even the laws in these past few years. That didn’t make them any less loyal to the village and Tsunade didn’t necessarily believe they needed to be punished with death. Once the Hanta Nins were unmasked there was no telling who’d hunt them. But where had they been? Was the council right, did they abandon their duty? Or maybe the council doesn’t know who they are either and this is their way of finding out?

Either way, Tsunade was not going to order the executions without further investigation.

“I’ll take it under consideration.”

That obviously upset the council. “There’s nothing to consider, the case is clear. Dereliction of duty results in treason, punishable by death.”

Tsunade’s eyes narrowed. “That is true, but you haven’t presented any evidence to support your claims.” Both Homura and Koharu opened their mouths to speak, but Tsunade held up a hand to stop them. “I will assign investigators to look into your claims immediately. Once the investigation is finished, I will convene the tribunal and their judgment will be carried out, as is the law of Konohagakure.”

Both members of the Konoha Council looked like they wanted to argue, but they didn’t. They shared a look, then nodded.

“Fine, we expect to be updated on the progress of the investigation,” Koharu agreed.

Tsunade nodded. They disappeared in flashes of smoke and leaves and as soon as they were gone Tsunade let out a growl of frustration.

ooo000ooo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was a little confused about the timeline concerning Sakumo’s suicide and Kakashi’s age. Hopefully this isn’t too far off.
> 
> Translations (from google translate so please correct me if I’m wrong):
> 
> Hanta - hunter


	3. Kotei sa reta buttai

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke wakes up, Iruka is sneaky and angry and Tsunade is trying to figure everything out and failing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own anything but the plot!

ooo000ooo

Chapter 2  
Kotei sa reta buttai  
An immovable object

Tarta, remember this, one who is willing to die is strong. The only ones who can defeat them are the ones who know their own worth.  
-Magic Knight RayEarth by Clamp

ooo000ooo

: :Umino Iruka’s Apartment, Konohagakure: :

Iruka woke to a painful crick in his neck and a hard floor under his cheek. The sun was up, shining brightly through the window and onto Iruka, warding off some of the chill from the floor. Iruka stretched and winced when every vertebra in his back cracked. It was time to get up, he had class in an hour according to the alarm clock on the floor next to him and he had slept through breakfast. He dressed quickly, pulling a clean uniform from the pile of laundry he hadn’t put away yet.

He checked on Naruto, who was still sprawled out over the bed Iruka had bought for him and sound asleep. Sasuke…Sasuke was in the process of climbing out the window, dragging most of his clothes and sword behind him. Iruka would normally admire his determination, but at the moment it just made him want to smack some sense into the young man. Iruka grabbed him by the back of his shirt and yanked hard, sending him flying back onto the bed with a shout of surprise. Iruka grabbed his clothes and weapons out of his hand as he bounced on the bed and chucked them into the hamper next to the door. 

Sasuke’s breath hissed as he landed. Despite landing on the soft bed, the impact jarred several unhealed injuries and Sasuke ended up curled on his side in the fetal position trying to control his breathing. A warm hand came to rest on his forehead, the touch gentle and comforting against his clammy, cool skin. Sasuke recognized the voice immediately. 

“You’ve got a pretty bad fever, you need to rest Sasuke.” Iruka took a seat next to him on the bed, shifting his hand to run his fingers through Sasuke’s hair and massage his scalp. 

It felt amazing and Sasuke almost fell right back to sleep. “I need to leave.”

“You need to rest,” Iruka corrected, “Both you and Naruto. You’re both beaten to hell after that little stunt in the valley.”

Sasuke did his best to glare at his former teacher and summon what anger he could, “Little stunt?”

Iruka smirked. “You heard me.” 

Sasuke’s glare wasn’t much of an answer to Iruka’s challenge, tempered by the fact that he was curled up almost into a ball next to Iruka and fighting to keep his eyes open.

Sasuke was silent for a moment, wondering if he was strong enough to get away and realizing he wasn’t. “Is Naruto…”

“He’s fine, like I said, beat up but he’ll heal. He’ll probably sleep for another couple of days before waking up and eating his weight in ramen.” Iruka grinned. “You should do the same.”

Sasuke frowned, “I hate ramen.”

Iruka didn’t blink. “Miso soup with sliced tomatoes then.”

Sasuke’s eyes widened, surprised that Iruka knew his favorite food. “How did you know?”

“You think I don’t remember?” Iruka looked amused, “Every time you packed your own lunch that was what you brought. In that little blue bento box Mikoto made for Itachi when he was in the Academy. He passed it down to you. You used to carry it with you where ever you went.” Iruka laughed suddenly. “You got so angry the day I took it away to clean it. You just stood in the doorway of the teacher’s lounge glaring at me until I finished and then you wouldn’t talk to me for a week.”

Sasuke’s flush was entirely due to his fever and he would swear on it until the day he died. Iruka pretended not to notice and kept running his fingers over Sasuke’s scalp. It brought back memories Sasuke hadn’t thought about for years. He could remember the really bad days after his family’s death, when he’d been so sad that he hadn’t been able to walk home. He’d sat on the steps of the Academy, long after everyone else had left, crying. Iruka had unfailing found him every time and sat quietly next to him. Sometimes Sasuke would run home in embarrassment; on some rare nights he would hold Iruka’s hand tightly as the young teacher walked him home, passing through the wards surrounding the Uchiha compound without so much as a twitch. Some nights, when Sasuke exhausted himself, he had nothing but disjointed memories of a warm arms and a steady heart beat under his cheek and he would wake up tucked into his bed the next morning. Itachi used to run his hands through Sasuke’s hair the same way Iruka was now, when Sasuke would have nightmares as a child and sneak into his older brother’s room so he wouldn’t’ have to sleep alone.

“What did the Hokage say? I’m going to be executed right?” Sasuke kept his voice steady, though it was weak.

Iruka looked sheepish, a light blush rising in his cheeks as he scratched the back of his head with his free hand. “Well, I highly doubt that’s what she would have said…if we’d told her you were here. Seeing as we didn’t and they have no idea, they haven’t really said anything about it.” And then he grinned again and winked like forgetting to tell Hokage that Sasuke, technically a highly valuable and dangerous missing nin, was back in the village wasn’t anything. But then, Sasuke remembered seeing Iruka yell at people who outranked him without fear. Even the Third Hokage. Kakashi had even commented on it during training, since Iruka tended to yell at him quite a bit. Iruka must have known what he was thinking because he spoke again. “It’s alright Sasuke, I just wanted both of you completely healed before things came out. At least then you’ll have a fighting chance.”

“You’re helping me?” Sasuke’s voice was full of disbelief.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Iruka asked.

“Why would you?” Sasuke countered quietly and Iruka was silent for a moment, eyes somber.

“Did you know that your father trained me?” Iruka asked quietly, turning to look out the window. Sasuke’s eyes widened in disbelief. “I was there the day both of you were born, you and Itachi.”

“He trained you? Why?” The words are out of Sasuke’s mouth before he can stop himself.

Iruka decides to ignore the slightly insulting tone of Sasuke’s disbelief. “They were a pretty tight knit group. My parents, yours, Tsume, Shibi, Sakumo, and Dai. And of course their teacher Kikyo.” 

“They were?” Sasuke’s voice is surprisingly and unfittingly small and all Iruka can think is that a son of Fugaku and Mikoto should never sound like that.

“Yeah. They grew up training together. Fugaku was one of my godfathers actually.” Sasuke’s eyes are wide now and Iruka realizes it’s the first time since Sasuke first began attending the academy that he’s had the boy’s full and undivided attention. Iruka stood, walking to the wall next to the window and moved his hands quickly in the form of a sealing jutsu. The wall simmers and changes, revealing a overflowing bookcase. Iruka selected a binder, a photo album Sasuke realizes and walks back over to the bed. Sasuke slowly uncurled as Iruka flipped through it and, curiosity overwhelming all else, sat tucked up against Iruka’s side as Iruka showed him the photo album.

It’s a picture of his parents. Fugaku, Mikoto, Maito Dai, whom Sasuke recognizes because his son is so obviously his, a beautiful kunoichi that is very obviously a Uchiha judging by her dark looks and the fan emblazoned on her chest, Sakumo, another man whose son has followed in his footsteps, Tsume and Shibi, who looked like they haven’t aged a day, and two shinobi Sasuke realizes must be Iruka parents. In front of them in a tangled line in which everyone manages to have their arms slung around at least one other person is Iruka, an ash blond Sasuke recognizes from the Chunin exams as the jounin who trained Kabuto, Kotetsu, Izumo, and, to Sasuke’s disbelief, his older brother Itachi and his best friend Shisui. He stares at the picture for a long time, everyone in it is grinning and their happiness is palpable. Written in elegant kanji underneath it is its title: the world’s most obvious case of favoritism. 

Sasuke has no idea what the title means, but it means something because the writing is faded and smudged. Iruka’s fingers must have traced it a thousand times since it was taken. Judging by the ages of everyone in the photo it was several years before Sasuke was born and Sasuke can’t recall any of those he has met smiling that way, not even Iruka. There are other pictures. It’s a huge photo album and Sasuke can see several others on the same shelves. The temptation is there and Iruka makes no argument when Sasuke reaches for the photo album. Simply lets him pull it into his lap, Sasuke’s own fingers starting to trace the words.

Iruka feels a sad smile steal over his face as he stands. “You’re welcome to look through all of them.”

Sasuke’s expression is tinged with panic as he watches Iruka step away from the bed towards the door. “Where are you going?”

It stops Iruka, surprising him, but warming him at the same time. “I have to teach classes at the academy today and then run a few errands, but I’ll be home for dinner.” The panic eases somewhat and Iruka smiles reassuringly. “Help yourself to anything in the apartment, Naruto’s still asleep in his room next door and he’s probably going to sleep for another couple of days so try not to wake him up. We can talk more when I get back.” 

Sasuke nods, his grip on the photo album turning his knuckles white. 

Iruka turns serious, “Don’t leave the apartment Sasuke. It’s warded so no one can sense your chakra or Naruto’s as long as you stay inside.”

Sasuke nods again, face serious. Iruka gives in to the urge to tap his finger on Sasuke’s forehead, the same way he used to with Itachi and the way he knows Itachi would do to Sasuke. The young man’s eyes widen almost comically and Iruka smiles as he heads out. “I started that by the way, it used to drive Itachi up the wall.”

ooo000ooo

: :Hokage’s Office, Konohagakure: :

Tsunade was steadily working her way through one of the many stacks of paperwork when there was a knock on the door. Shizune was preoccupied with attempting to sort paperwork so Tsunade just hollered “Come in!”

The ANBU Commander, Taka, stepped into the office and immediately dropped into a respectful bow. “Hokage-sama, you summoned?”

“Yes, sit, everyone else out!” Shizune and the two ANBU guards that usually resided in the background exited quickly, though Shizune sent her a questioning look over her shoulder. Tsunade finished reading the current request she was working on and put it in the accepted for missions pile before turning to the ANBU commander. His mask was securely in place, Tsunade had told him he was free to remove in meetings with her but he had repeatedly chosen not to. She had a dozen secret theories as to why, battlefield injuries, horrifying birth defects, but she’d yet to find out anything solid.

“Thank you for coming so quickly.” Tsunade shifted the pile off papers to the side of her desk, resting her elbows in their place, lacing her fingers, and resting her chin on her joined hands as she studied the shinobi sitting across from her. 

“Of course Hokage-sama. Your summons sounded urgent.”

“Yes, have you ever heard of Hanta?”

His head cocked to the side, “Hanta?”

“Yes, it was brought up to me the other day and I don’t remember Konoha having a hunter nin unit like Mist’s.”

“Because we don’t,” he responded immediately. “It was suggested at one point, by one of my predecessors, but it never gained any traction. The Third didn’t like the idea of that kind of unit. From what I understand, the new Mizukage isn’t fond of it either.”

Tsunade nodded, the last time she’d spoken to Mai the kunoichi had mentioned she was trying to reform several of Mist’s shinobi teams. “Yes, she’s in the process of disbanding it.”

Taka nodded. “May I ask, Hokage-sama, the tone of the conversation concerning the Hanta?”

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, that was an interesting question. “Dark. It was suggested that they be executed for failing in their duties.”

Taka shook his head. “I fail to see how that’s possible. From what I understand we don’t currently have a Hanta unit, they resigned before my tenure as ANBU Commander began and the Third never named replacements.”

Tsunade blinked in surprise, “So we did have a hunter team?”

“Yes and no, Hokage-sama. They were hunter nin yes, but not in the way you are assuming. I never had the occasion to work with them, from what I understand they were tasked by the Third himself and rarely worked with ninja outside the Hanta.” Taka shrugged. “I don’t recall ever hearing anyone speak of working with them.”

“What is their purpose?” Tsunade asked, worried. Why had Sandaime never mentioned or left any information on them?

“I don’t know for sure, Hokage-sama, but everything I know about them, which is admittedly little, suggests that their focus in the protection of shinobi.”

“The protection of shinobi?” Tsunade repeated, surprised. That had not been what she expected at all.

“Yes, the only occasions I have heard about them being called out was in response to shinobi severely injured on missions. Usually when their assigned team was unable to save them. They were called out frequently during the Third Shinobi World War.”

Tsunade winced. The Third Shinobi World War had been a hellish war of attrition, if that was the mission of the Hanta then it wasn’t surprising that they’d been called out often during its tenure. “Were they an execution squad?”

Taka shook his head, again surprising Tsunade. “No, from what I understand they held an almost perfect record for bringing shinobi back alive.”

“Really?” Admiration slipped into Tsunade’s tone.

Taka nodded, “I don’t know what exactly you’d execute them for Hokage-sama?”

“It wasn’t my idea, don’t worry. I’d be more inclined to bring a group like that back into service rather then punish them.” Tsunade sighed and leaned back in her chair.

Taka relaxed. “I believe they resigned sometime during the Third Hokage’s reign, before the chuunin exams and Orochimaru.”

“Really?” That was good news. All the charges the Council had wanted to bring against them were invalid if they hadn’t been operating then. “Have you heard anything else about them?”

Taka shook his head. “That’s all I know Hokage-sama.”

Tsunade nodded, “Okay, that’s great news actually. Taka, I want you to start looking into the Hanta. Find out what you can, ideally the identities of the last Hanta and what caused them to resign.”

Taka nodded. “I’ll begin immediately Hokage-sama.”

“Good, you’re dismissed.”

Taka stood, bowed deeply and disappeared in a flash of smoke and leaves. It was a credit to his skill level that Tsunade never saw his hands move to form the seals. Almost immediately Shizune reappeared, carrying yet another stack of papers. Tsunade groaned and started looking for her sake. 

“The Council wants to execute the Hanta?” Shizune asked. Tsunade sighed, not at all surprised that Shizune had eavesdropped on the meeting. Her assistant was highly skilled and had known Tsunade long enough to know when to stick close.

“Yeah.” Tsunade let out a bellow of triumph as she found a nearly full bottle of sake under another pile of papers.

“I’ve never even heard of the Hanta,” Shizune frowned as she added the new pile of papers to the others on Tsunade’s desk.

“Me neither until they brought it up.” She took a long drink. “Bastards are trying to cause problems so quickly after the war,” she signed. “I was hoping for peace for a while.”

“I think every one is. How much trouble do you think they’ll cause?” Shizune sounded worried.

“I don’t know,” she took another sip and dragged a new pile of papers in front of her. “I think they’re going to do something stupid that’s going to get a lot of people hurt.”

ooo000ooo

: :Konohagakure Records Office, Hokage’s Tower: :

Iruka was tapping his foot in impatience by the time the records clerk returned with his files. He barely kept back an irritated sigh as the young man slowly combed through the papers, pulling out the two Iruka had requested to check and update. They’d been filed years ago originally and judging by the dust no one has bothered to check them since. Iruka had copies in his apartment but he wanted to make sure they were still official and intact in the records office so they’d remain legally binding.

“Alright, two 1-5 A forms. You want to update and re-file them correct?” The records clerk is a ninja obviously and Iruka has the undeniable urge to lecture him about taking his job and responsibilities seriously because he is obviously not.

“Yes,” Iruka answered through gritted teeth. He’d waited an hour to do something that took five minutes and his temper was frayed to it’s breaking point. The clerk slid the forms across the counter and left to help another customer. Iruka knew the kid had no idea what the forms were or what they were supposed to look like. He was young enough to resent being assigned a job like this instead of doing missions regularly and he was not paying attention. Normally Iruka wouldn’t stand for it but it worked in his favor today, so he kept his mouth shut and put his new address in the contact block on both and read the forms over. 1 - 5 A form was the legal guardian form and these two awarded Iruka legal guardianship over Uzumaki Naruto, officiated by the Third Hokage himself and Uchiha Sasuke officiated by Uchiha Fugaku in the case of his death. They were legal binding until every person mentioned in them was dead.

They didn’t have to be updated to remain legal, but Iruka didn’t want to take any chances. As the legal guardian to both boys, he was required to be updated on anything that happened with them and if Tsunade were to decide that Sasuke had to be placed under any form of arrest or supervision Iruka was first in line. He forged her signature in the officiates box and Maito Gai’s in the witness box, because he has faith that Gai will put the wellbeing of Naruto and Sasuke before almost anything else should he called out for the form. He dates it back two years, when things were so crazy that no one will be able to remember if they actually signed it or not. Both are signatures perfect, Iruka’s seen them both sign so often he can do it with his eyes closed and he makes them just different enough to not be copies. 

He wondered briefly if he should check on the form awarding him guardianship of Itachi and decided not to. It was still legal after all and Itachi was dead, which broke Iruka’s heart all over again every time he thought about it, so he left it be. He already had the forms awarding him control of the Uchiha compound and anything inside it and the wards were still strong. No one besides Iruka, a Uchiha, Naruto and any member of Hanta can enter the compound. Even the Hokage would be blown so far back that she’d spend time in the hospital if she tried to enter.

The clerk came back and Iruka slid the forms back across the counter. The kid didn’t even look at them.

“Would you like copies, Umino-san?”

“Yes please.” And Iruka feels some of the tension bleed out of him as the kid used a jutsu to make copies and then notarize them. He hands Iruka his copies and used another jutsu to re-file the originals. Iruka wanted to comment that he could have used a jutsu to find them in the first place but he could still smell the smoke from the cigarette the kid snuck while looking for them and decided to let it go.

“Have a good day, Umino-san.”

“You as well,” Iruka replied as he leaves, letting out a deep breath as he took the steps to the street two at a time. He tucked the forms deep into his vest and barely concealed his groan of disbelief when he saw Hatake Kakashi walking towards him. Or rather towards the Hokage’s Tower behind him. There was a moment of brief curiosity at why the jounin was walking on the street instead of teleporting but it was quickly tucked behind Iruka’s need to get away before Hatake noticed him.

It was too late. For whatever reason Hatake chose that moment to look up from his book, the one that made Iruka want to beat him senseless, and he spotted Iruka immediately. Iruka knew it because the jounin lowered his book and slowed to a stop in front of him before Iruka could pretend he didn’t see him and teleport away.

Iruka would be damned if his anger ruined his manners and he bowed deeply. “Hatake-san, good evening.” Iruka was late for dinner and he wanted to be back at his apartment hours ago.

“Umino-sensei, headed home?” The question was polite and innocent and for some unknown reason made Iruka even angrier. 

“Yes, have a good night.” Iruka started to leave and he was stunned when Hatake actually called him out.

“I see you’re still not over our disagreement from the Chuunin exams.”

Iruka wanted to scream that it was so much more then that, but he had no interest in sharing that much of himself with anyone and ruthlessly stamped the urge into nothingness. Instead he gritted his teeth, turned, and managed to get out, “If you recall Hatake-san, I apologized and admitted you were right. It is rather childish of you to keep bringing it up.”

“But you didn’t mean it.” Kakashi was not so noble that he’d pass up the chance to tease the emotional chuunin. He was ruthlessly attractive when he was angry and Kakashi secretly liked that he had the balls to argue with people who outranked him. Right now Iruka looked like he was about to explode and there was a vein pulsing in his forehead that Kakashi had the somewhat odd urge to lick. Only the fact that Iruka would probably attempt to rend him limb from limb until Kakashi was forced to hurt him to stop him makes him keep his tongue to himself. 

“Would you like me to apologize again?” Iruka barely got out.

“Would it be any different?” Kakashi asked, putting his book away and stuffing his hands in his pockets. His signature slouch in place.

Iruka wants to physically straighten Kakashi’s form but that thought lead to places Iruka wasn’t ready to go so he focused on his anger. “All of my apologies were meant with the utmost sincerity Hataka-san.” Which is a bald face lie of the highest order. There had been a dozen over the years since the disagreement and Iruka hasn’t meant a single one.

Kakashi knew it too and has no problem calling Iruka on it. “Not setting a very good example for your students there, sensei. If you’re going to lie like that, you should practice enough to make it believable.”

Iruka saw red but before he could act on it someone else was calling out to Kakashi and they both turn to see a pretty female jounin Iruka recognized from the records room and whom Kakashi knew from ANBU. She joined them, oblivious to the tone of their discussion and put a hand on Kakashi’s arm in a very intimate manner. For some reason it felt like a bucket of ice water had just been dumped over Iruka. 

“Kakashi-san,” her voice is liquid sugar and Iruka feels his eye twitch. “I’m glad I ran into you. I was hoping we’d get another chance to talk.”

Another chance, Iruka wants to make a crack about that but he doesn’t. He was well aware that Kakashi overlooked his behavior for whatever reason, but Iruka has seen this female jounin nail other chuunin for being disrespectful and insist they be reprimanded. Iruka’s record, god knows how, was still spotless and he intended to keep it that way.

Iruka turns to leave, only to be called out by Kakashi again. “Maa, Umino-sensei our conversation wasn’t finished.”

Yes it was, Iruka thinks furiously as he turns around. He had a smile plastered on his face, though judging from the amused expression on Kakashi’s face the killing aura was obvious.

“I apologize Hatake-san, but I’m late for dinner so I need to be going.” Iruka’s tone has dropped into leave-me-the-fuck-alone-asshole regardless of his attempts to keep it professional and the female jounin frowned.

“You should be careful of your tone Umino-san, it’s disrespectful. You should show more respect and control when speaking with your superiors.”

Amusingly enough, all Iruka can think is, damn she knows who I am. 

Kakashi just looked more amused and Iruka feels his eye twitch as she continued.

“Shinobi custom is built on respect.”

No it isn’t, Iruka thinks wildly. I teach this to children every day.

“You should apologize and work harder to live up to your station. Kakashi and I have earned our ranks by protecting this village on countless occasions.”

That’s it. Iruka was done. He bowed deeply and lets his words cut just as deeply. “Respect is something that is earned jounin-san, it does not get awarded with rank or the number of kills you achieve and personally, I don’t think killing is a skill worthy of respect. But I assure you, as soon as I met someone worthy of it, I’ll accord them some.”

The female jounin’s face was so priceless as she processed Iruka’s words that he wished he had a camera. Kakashi’s lost that amused look he was sporting too and Iruka straightened and teleported to his apartment before either of them could say anything else. 

Damn, I’m actually going to get a reprimand now, Iruka sighed as he took off his shoes in the small hallway leading into his apartment. 

When he turned from hanging his vest on the peg near the door he found Sasuke, looking slightly disheveled and embarrassed, holding a tray of miso soup with sliced tomatoes for two. There was a tea set out on the coffee table in the living room and Iruka’s anger dissipated immediately. All the photo albums were out and open and Iruka wanted to laugh when he saw dozens of bookmarks in each album.

“Find some interesting pictures, Sasuke?”

ooo000ooo

: :Torture and Interrogation Unit Cells, ANBU: :

Ibiki frowned as he watched the shinobi sitting quietly in his cell, separated by several empty cells on all sides to keep him away from any other prisoners. Since his surrender after the battle against Kaguya Kabuto had been a model prisoner. He’d answered all their questions truthfully, had allowed the Yamanaka interrogators to use their bloodline limit without complaint, and had even assisted in the medical treatment of one of his sick interrogators. Ibiki was not the most trusting person, he indulged his paranoia fearlessly at all times, but even he was hard pressed to call Kabuto anything but honest.

He’d given them the location to old Akatsuki hideouts and Orochimaru’s former labs. They’d found out more about Orochimaru then they’d ever wanted to know, including his obsession and fear of the sharingan and his burning hatred for the Uchiha, who had somehow figured out that his motives long before anyone else and had found a way to prevent him from ever getting his hands on the sharingan. 

Kabuto also had a level of hatred for Danza that Ibiki had never seen equaled and, while he took complete responsibility for his actions, he credited Danzo’s recruitment of him for Root and his subsequent tasking as the basis for his loss of identity, which had spiraled into everything else. Ibiki was hard pressed to argue that after learning exactly what Danzo had done to the children he’d forced into Root.

As soon as he’d learned of it Ibiki had begun checking up on the members of Root that Kabuto could remember and a disturbing number had suffered violent, suspicious deaths. It made Ibiki wonder if Danzo had made a habit of removing the soldiers he himself created when they’d gotten too strong. Tsunade had been furious when he’d shared what he’d found with her and instructed him to continue his investigation into Danzo and Root.

When they’d first begun interrogating him Ibiki’d had several units working round the clock to verify what Kabuto had been saying. Now, several months in, he kept one dedicated squad on it and let the others return to their regular duties. So far, every single thing Kabuto had told them had been true. It had gotten to the point that Ibiki had been fighting the urge to take everything at face value and not have it double-checked at all.

Ibiki still wasn’t sure what had prompted the Hokage to accept Kabuto’s surrender instead of executing him on the spot, but whatever it had been had resulted in startlingly valuable intelligence. Kabuto had apparently made a point to keep up with information on missing nin and bloodline limits from all five hidden villages and Ibiki’s bingo book was significantly thicker then it had been before. Ibiki himself had removed Uchiha Itachi’s page. Kabuto had hinted very strongly at the disturbing idea that Danzo had ordered the massacre of the Uchiha Clan, which, while it would absolve Itachi, would also open up the terrifying idea that someone in high a position of power in the government had knowingly ordered something that could have collapsed the nation into civil war. Not to mention that there had been children and civilians in the Uchiha clan that had also been killed.

Ibiki wasn’t sure what to do with that. Kabuto was openly honest that his reformation was the result of Itachi’s efforts to save him and Konoha. It would have been easy to chalk it up to Kabuto’s obviously biased feelings toward the Uchiha, but with everything else he’d learned about Danzo…. Ibiki was shinobi, he frequently took on jobs others found distasteful, and anything to protect the village was what he said. But recently he’d been realizing that even he had his limits. Forcing children to become emotionless tools and wiping out an entire clan were not actions Ibiki would ever support and he’d been unabashedly relieved to find out Tsunade didn’t support them either.

But it left the two of them in the awkward position of what to do with the information they’d received and Ibiki knew it weighed heavily on the mind of the Hokage. Now, she sat across from Ibiki, eyes on Kabuto with a frown marring her pretty face. The subject of her gaze was staring quietly at the wall, almost unnaturally still. Ibiki had to constantly remind himself that Kabuto was the same age as Itachi and not that much older then Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto. He couldn’t help but feel that it wasn’t natural for someone his age to be so still. He no longer bore the marks he had during the battle, he looked exactly like he had at the chuunin exams where Ibiki had first seen him and it was hard to reconcile the two images of him.

“Hokage-sama?”

Tsunade jerked out of her thoughts and turned to the master interrogator. 

“Are you alright?” He looked concerned, which was rare.

Tsunade sighed and nodded, “Yes, just thinking.”

Ibiki nodded, Kabuto had put that look on the faces of several of his interrogators. 

“What do you think of him Ibiki?” She had a hard time forgetting their first fight, when he’d so easily deduced her weakness at the sight of blood and ruthlessly used it against her. What really stuck in her mind was the intelligence he’d displayed, calming working his way through his body to figure out how to counter the attack that had confused his nervous system and almost returning to full maneuverability. There weren’t many shinobi capable of that level of critical thinking, especially in the heat of battle. He’d have been an excellent medical nin if his life had gone a different way.

“I think he’s telling the truth.” Ibiki answered honestly.

She looked surprised at his honesty, but nodded in agreement. She was surprised to realize that she agreed with him. 

“It would be wise to wait a bit longer though, before considering returning him to public view. The civilian side doesn’t know what he did, but I’m sure word has spread through the shinobi population. It’ll have to be addressed if you don’t want to execute him or keep him locked in a cell for the rest of his natural life.”

Tsunade frowned, “I’m not sure what I want to do with him yet.”

Ibiki nodded in understanding. “He’ll be safe here until you decide Hokage-sama.”

ooo000ooo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations (from google translate so please correct me if I’m wrong):
> 
> Taka - Hawk  
> Hanta - Hunter


	4. Fukakoryoku

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Rookie 11 reunite and Iruka and Tsunade clash again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still not mine!

ooo000ooo

Chapter 3  
Fukakoryoku  
An irresistible force

Soldiers, when committed to a task, can’t compromise. It’s unrelenting devotion to the standards of duty and courage, absolute loyalty to others, not letting the task go until it’s been done.  
-John Keegan

ooo000ooo

Tsume took a deep breath; let it settle in her lungs and her eyes fall shut. Winter was here, the air cold and crisp. Fresh and clean and a little bit wet. It was her favorite time of year, the favorite for all the Hanta. When the number of missions were low and the could come in from the cold to a warm fire and warmer arms. Though it had been years since she’d served actively with them, she could still remember coming back from missions and collapsing in front of the fire with Kikyo and Mikoto, while Dai would drag Fugaku to the kitchen to make warm sake Shibi and Sakumo would scrounge up every blanket they could find. They’d end up in a tangled mass of blankets and people, still wet from washing off blood, muscles twitching from exhaustion, in front of the roaring fire that had always graced the Hanta Hall deep within the Uchiha Compound. 

It had been the living symbol of their Will of Fire, of their love and devotion for the shinobi of their village. It had burned strong and bright back then, but in the years since it had weakened. For a short time that flame had gone out completely, but it had started to come back. Albeit slowly. Very, very slowly. It gave Tsume hope that the long years of darkness were finally starting to recede, that the light might be coming back.

A gentle gust of wind made her smile and Shibi’s warm presence swept over her. The low hum of his insects always in the background. Most people couldn’t hear them without straining, but to Tsume they’d always been a welcome assurance that Shibi was healthy and alive.

“What are you doing up here so late Tsume?” His voice was warm and low and Tsume could remember the countless horrible nights it had gotten her through. When Kiba’s father had left, the countless lives Hanta had lost in those horrible years following the Third Shinobi World War. They were the only nin who lost more members in peace time then in war time.

“Just thinking.” She didn’t have to look at him to know the expression that would have crossed his face at her words.

“Really?” The amusement in his voice said he didn’t believe her and she didn’t blame him. Tsume wasn’t the deep thinking type. She never had been, regardless of the effort her own teachers had put in. Tsume trusted her instincts, like all Inuzuka and her faith in that had been proven time and time again. It was a behavior and practice that had been the reason the Inuzuka had been chosen as one of the three clans to make up the Hanta. They balanced the thoughtfulness of the Aburame and the vicious cunning of the Uchiha, both of whom tended to brood and over think when they had the opportunity. Tsume had always launched ahead full throttle while Fugaku and Shibi held back and mulled. 

“I’m worried about Iruka,” Tsume admitted ruefully. “I know he’s not getting along with Tsunade and having to hide Sasuke and Naruto in that crappy apartment of his isn’t helping anything.”

“Did you feel it though?” Shibi asked, voice happy and rich, “They finally figured it out. Shino told me not to expect him home tonight. He’s staying at Iruka’s.”

Tsume nodded, that sudden surge of elated chakra had nearly made her walk into a wall, “Kiba said the same thing, and Hinata met up with him when he left.”

“They’re all going. Iruka’s apartment building might not be standing tomorrow morning.” Shibi sounded proud beyond measure and Tsume shared that feeling. Their boys were growing up fast and strong, the challenges they’d weathered would give them the knowledge they needed to face anything the future could bring. It gave Tsume the courage to face what was coming next herself, knowing that her son and Shibi’s would be okay when they were gone. 

She still worried about Iruka though. He was so strong and so smart, she worried about what he planned to do. He had the same trait of self-sacrifice as Shisui, Itachi and Fugaku, that even Obito had displayed in the end. She wanted him to live on and enjoy a happy life for at least as long as he’d suffered a horrible one. Iruka wouldn’t do that though, unless they gave him no other option. 

Tsume’s curse echoed in the quiet night. “Fucking Uchiha’s and their goddamn stubbornness!” They always had to save everybody.

Shibi laughed and Tsume understood the irony of an Inuzuka calling out an Uchiha out for stubbornness. 

ooo000ooo

: :Hokage’s Office, Hokage’s Tower: :

Iruka tried in vain to reign his temper in. This meeting, that had begun an hour ago, had gone on an hour too long in his opinion. Between the Hokage butting her nose into academy business, the presence of Hyuga Hiashi who had absolutely nothing to do with this case, the Konoha Council, who had pretty much shown up just to disagree with everything Iruka said, and the actual parent with whom Iruka was disagreeing, he was certain he was in some previously undiscovered level of hell.

“Tea, Umino-sensei?” Koharu asked politely, holding out a cup. She frequently used serving tea to lull people into a false sense of security. It threw off many to have someone in a position such as hers serve them tea. Iruka didn’t share that belief and normally he would have been suspicious of anything she gave him but he wasn’t thinking about it now.

Iruka took it and drank, anything to distract him from what it happening and keep him from opening his mouth. At this point, anything he said was likely to get him into serious trouble.

“It is more then fair to be concerned with the child’s age, any truly dedicated teacher would be,” Homura spoke calmly. “But we must also take into account any damage that might be done by holding the student back when he is ready to advance.”

Iruka wanted to stab him repeatedly with a dull kunai. The Konoha Council paid little attention to the Academy. Iruka could count on one hand the number of times they’d visited while he was an instructor and all of those times they’d simply followed the Third around as he visited. The only reason they’d gotten involved in this discussion was because the Hokage had gotten involved and they wanted a chance to strike at Iruka. He’d clashed with the council before, but this was the first time he’d done it without the Third backing him. Sandaime had had absolute faith in Iruka’s judgment when it came to graduating children early and since Iruka had become a lead instructor he hadn’t graduated a single student early. Which was probably the reason for Hiashi’s presence. He’d come at the request of Jounin Hitsugaya ,whose son, while only six, had entered the academy the year before and was considered a genius. Iruka and Hiashi had clashed on multiple occasions concerning Neji, Hinata, and Hanabi. Hiashi had wanted all three of them graduated early. Iruka had refused for all three and in the end, they had each graduated with their peers.

How Hiashi felt about him now, Iruka had no idea. He’d mourned the loss of Neji. Iruka always felt the death of a former student deeply and he’d always had a soft spot for the castaway from the Hyuga Branch house. Hinata had confided in him that Hiashi had begun to rethink his opinions on the split within the clan and had worked hard to improve his relationships with Hinata and Neji before his death. Iruka hoped that held true now. Hinata had taken her cousin’s death hard. Now that she had nothing else to focus on, the rift between her and her father had begun to return but for different reasons. Everyone was having a hard time adjusting and moving forward. 

“Has anyone asked the child what he wants to do?” Tsunade asked. Shizune sat attentively at her shoulder, recording the meeting. This was the first time the Godaime had been involved in an argument involving the Academy. She and Iruka had had their fair share of disagreements, but it had never been over something that was so clearly Iruka’s domain. She had her own opinions on the subject and admittedly, they leaned more towards Iruka’s views but she had four other powerful people in the room and she was wary of just agreeing with Iruka and starting a much bigger fight.

“Yes, Hokage-sama, he wants to graduate.” Jounin Hitsugaya responded immediately and Iruka almost choked on his tea.

“The hell he does!” Iruka slammed the delicate tea cup onto the table and ignored it when it shattered in his hand. “I talk to him everyday and I’ve asked him on multiple occasions, including this morning, and every time he’s said he wants to stay and graduate with his class.”

Jounin Hitsugaya glared at him and Iruka might have been cowed by someone of Hitsugaya’s skill if the man wasn’t a drunkard who usually failed to remember he even had a son.

“My son is ready to graduate. Keeping him in the academy is detrimental to his development. He’s surrounded by weaker children his age and they are constantly dragging him down.” The distain in the jounin’s voice when he speaks of the other students is clear and Tsunade finds her dislike of the man growing.

Iruka saw red, jumped to his feet and snarled, “What the hell would you know about his development? You usually too drunk to even remember you have a kid and when you do remember, you beat him so badly I have to send him to the school medic nin before he can join his class. His grandmother is the one raising him and she can barely walk.”

Jounin Hitsugaya’s face turned an ugly shade of purple as he rose to meet Iruka head on.

“ENOUGH!” Tsunade roared, on her feet herself. Everyone in the room had jumped to their feet with the infuriated jounin, though she wasn’t sure if they were going to step in to stop the bloodshed or assist in it. How the hell did Iruka manage to get himself into these situations? “Umino-sensei I assume you wouldn’t make baseless accusations to get your way. Do you have evidence of this abuse?” Tsunade kept her voice steady.

The jounin’s face was incredulous, like he couldn’t comprehend why that would be important. It left an uneasy feeling in Tsunade’s stomach.

Iruka visibly took a second to calm himself enough to speak. “Of course, the academy keeps records of any event in which a student is required to see a medic nin. Toshiro’s given multiple statements as to who hurt him and I’ve reported it on multiple occasions, but nothing was ever done about it.”

That makes Tsunade angry.

“You bastard, he’s my son I can do whatever the hell I want to him!”

That makes her rage. ANBU was at her shoulder in an instant and their presence silenced the entire room, except of course, Iruka. Who punched Jounin Hitsugaya in the face as hard as he can and sent the man flying through the window of Tsunade’s office. One of the ANBU has the presence of mind to jump after the man. The other one has a sword at Iruka’s throat in the same instant but the chuunin apparently didn’t notice or care, because he didn’t acknowledge it. Merely straightened and rubbed his knuckles.

Bringing the jounin back into the room was likely to end in some getting arrested so Tsunade motioned the ANBU to take him to the hospital. She’d deal with him later and have ANBU do a very thorough investigation. She doubted that he was going to be a jounin, or even a shinobi, by the time it was over.

The ANBU still had his sword at Iruka’s throat and the chuunin had yet to look at him. Ignoring the ANBU with a skill that suggested he practices it. Given what she’s heard about his temper it wouldn’t surprise to find out this isn’t the first time this has happened to him. She can see the Konoha Council watching her carefully; she knows without the words that they want her to punish Iruka for his blatant disrespect of a room full of higher ranked shinobi. Hiashi was watching quietly, Tsunade has heard about his legendary arguments with Iruka and she was surprised to realize she can’t tell how he wanted this to go.

She motioned the ANBU to leave and he did. Iruka’s gaze met hers head on and she wanted to know who the hell trained him to have such fearlessness and conviction. She wanted to met him and ask what the hell he was thinking because now she was stuck with Iruka and she didn’t know what the hell to do with him. 

She grabbed his arm, her face blank, and squeezed. The bones break in her grip. Iruka went white and doubled over his arm. “Don’t ever disrespect me like that in public again, Umino-sensei. I am more then willing to hear you out on any matter fairly and I have done so on every occasion. But I will not afford you that respect if you will refuse to afford me the same. Sandaime may have been willing to indulge your reckless temper but I will not.”

Iruka hissed in pain, but twisted his arm enough to touch her wrist with his fingers. The Hokage didn’t notice the small blast of chakra he sends into her wrist. “I won’t sit idly by when something is wrong. Konohagakure was founded on the shared belief that children should never have to be soldiers or have you forgotten that Hokage-sama?”

Tsunade stared down at him in disbelief. She was going to kill whoever taught him to be like this. This outspoken chuunin brat was daring to question her dedication to the village. Her knowledge of its history, of her grandfather’s dream. Her hand tightened further in anger. Iruka hissed again, but didn’t apologize. Didn’t surrender, didn’t weaken and Tsuande was struck by the sudden thought, what a will of fire. 

Distantly, far from what is happening in her office now, she wonders how much torture Iruka was trained to withstand and why a chuunin academy teacher would have training that advanced.

Naruto called Iruka his most precious person. The first one in the village to show him kindness. The first teacher to show him how to be strong and protect the village. He’d shaped Naruto’s way, nurtured the same will in the blond orphan. Tsunade could see the resemblance very clearly now. “Everyone, get out now.” Tsunade’s voice was cold, hard, and very angry. 

Hiashi avoided Iruka’s gaze as he left. The man might have been cold with a stick up his ass but he didn’t support child abuse. Any chance he’d had at using the meeting to get the moral high ground over Iruka in their arguments had disappeared as soon as Iruka had revealed the abuse. He left without a word.

Iruka didn’t spare the council a glance and they returned the favor. Though they leveled a long look at Tsunade, but the Hokage’s gaze didn’t waver from Iruka and eventually they left.

Shizune slipped out while Iruka and the Hokage glared at one another and shut the door.

Tsunade took a deep breath to resist the urge to put Iruka through the wall and instead shoved him roughly to his knees and retook her seat. She stared at him and he met her gaze fearlessly. She wasn’t going to deny the small spark of pride and smugness at the sight of him cradling his broken arm against his chest as he did it though.

“Who trained you?” 

He looked surprised at her question and then suspicious, but he can’t quite keep the absolute desolation out of his voice when he answered. “What does it matter, they died a long time ago.”

Which is exactly what Tsunade expected to hear. Iruka had an anger about him that suggested a lifetime of loss. She’d had the same way about her for a long time after Nawaki and Dan had died. 

“Have you ever heard of the Hanta nin?”

Iruka’s heart stopped in his chest. Just for a moment. Long enough for his blood to run cold and a gaping pit to form in his stomach. “The Hanta?” He repeated it to be sure he heard her correctly, even though he knew he did. He taught small children how to use deadly weapons, his hearing was impeccable. Tsunade nodded. “Once or twice I think,” Iruka’s heartbeat slowly returned to normal as he forced the words out. “Rumors mostly.”

Tsunade allowed herself to relax a bit and sighed, “That’s been everyone’s response so far.”

Shit, Iruka thought. “Everyone?”

“Taka, the Clan leaders, Kakashi and several ANBU squad leaders.”

For kaki’s sake is she asking everyone? Iruka can feel his eye twitch.

“Even the Council doesn’t seem to know who they are.”

Bastard ratfucking liars! Iruka’s anger is barely contained as he realized the Konoha Council are likely the ones who told Tsunade about the Hanta to begin with. Apparently they didn’t come right out and say who they were, which raised even more questions. “I haven’t heard anything about them recently. Most of the rumors I heard were when I was younger.”

Tsunade looked honestly disappointed and Iruka wondered what she was hoping for. He decides to take a chance, despite the throbbing in his arm. “Why does the council want to find the Hanta?”

Tsunade blinked, “What makes you think it’s the Council?”

Iruka snorted. “Because I’m eighty percent sure they’re responsible for forty percent of the bad things that happen in this village.”

“Forty?” Tsunade asked, amused despite herself and secretly relieved to find someone who so openly hated the Council.

“Twenty percent of it is for everything outside the village.” Iruka shrugged. 

“And the other forty?” Tsunade inquired, wondering at the reasoning behind Iruka’s beliefs. 

“Danzo.” Iruka doesn’t bother to hide the disgust and hatred in his voice. He’d be more likely to show mercy to Kaguya or Orochimaru than the former Konoha Council member.

“He’s dead now.” Tsuande pointed out, taken aback by the level of hatred the chuunin displayed. 

“I know.” 

Iruka responds with the tone of someone who knows and if Tsunade didn’t know for sure that Sasuke had killed the old ninja she’d strongly suspect it had been Iruka. She also suspects that Danzo bloody death hasn’t lessened Iruka’s hatred at all. Iruka’s motivations are as murky as his past at this point. After asking around no one had really been able to tell her anything except that he’d been an orphan after the Kyuubi attack and a troublemaker on a level that made Naruto look like an angel. Though several had complimented his sheer creativity on several pranks. It suggested good problem solving skills and deductive abilities. He’d be a good investigator and Tsunade impulsively decided to do something she would never have expected of herself. “I want you to investigate the Hanta.”

“What? Why me?” Iruka’s eyes are wide in disbelief. This was not going the way he’d been expecting.

“Because no one’s going to suspect you and because you’re like a dog with a bone.” Iruka bristled at that one and Tsunade smiled. “Find me the Hanta and in the meantime I will have ANBU carry out a very thorough investigation of jounin Hitsugaya.”

Iruka’s immediate refusal died on his tongue, his eyes narrowing in thought. “What happens to Toshiro in the meantime?”

“I’ll either put a guard on the boy and grandmother or find a safe place for the boy to stay until the investigation is concluded.”

Iruka was well aware he was being manipulated. He’d filled enough reports that someone will have to do something soon regardless of the discussion happening now. And despite their disagreements Iruka doesn’t think the Hokage will turn her back on the boy just to spite Iruka. This was why Tsunade could never win a bet, Iruka thinks, she keeps trying to bluff with nothing in her hand. 

Iruka does not like the idea of the Hokage tasking anyone like Hatake Kakashi to investigation the Hanta. That was a migraine that Iruka didn’t want to deal with and as much as the nonsensical jounin droves him up the damn wall, Naruto was still fond of him. Iruka would feel guilty killing him when it could have been avoided.

“How much time do I have?”

ooo000ooo

: :Umino Iruka’s Apartment, Konohagakure: :

Iruka kicked the door shut with his foot and dropped his bag on the floor under the line of coat hangers. He kept his broken wrist tucked across his chest, he needed to dig out his first aid kit and find a brace or bandages for his arm. There was no way he was going to the hospital, it felt too much like admitting weakness. He wasn’t prepared for the yellow and orange blur that slammed into him and sent him to the floor, his broken wrist slamming into the cold wood. He let out a yelp as Naruto landed on top of him, his arms squeezing Iruka so tightly he couldn’t breath.

“Naruto!” The breath knocked out of him and the pain from his wrist made it come out more like a gasp.

“Iruka-sensei!” Naruto beamed. “Welcome back, I woke up a couple hours ago and the teme said I’ve been sleeping for a week! The liar!”

Iruka would have responded if he’d had the ability to pull air into his lungs. As it was all he could do was wheeze. Thankfully Sasuke chose that moment to come around the corner and roll his eyes at the sight.

“Dobe, he’s not going to respond because he can’t breath. You’re squeezing him too tight!”

“I am not!” Naruto raged, “I would never hurt Iruka-sensei!” Naruto’s grip, in his anger, tightened and Iruka let out a strangled laugh as Sasuke grabbed Naruto by the back of his shirt collar and tried to drag him off Iruka. Naruto fought back and for a moment it was the funniest thing Iruka had seen in a long time. Sasuke, still in Iruka’s too big pajamas, trying to drag Naruto away by the back of his oversized pajamas, that had once been Iruka’s until he’d stolen them years ago. While Naruto fought as hard as he could against Sasuke’s pull, wrapping his arms and legs around Iruka in an effort to stay.

Sasuke was sneaky though, he relaxed his grip letting Naruto think he’d given up and then yanked once, hard and the blond was so surprised he couldn’t grab Iruka fast enough. Sasuke underestimate the strength of his pull though and Naruto flew backwards right into him and they both fell into a tangled heap on the floor.

Iruka, who could finally breath again, laughed as the two tried to stand with their limbs tangled and ended up shoving one another to the their feet. Iruka held out his good hand and they pulled him to his feet.

“What happened to your wrist?” Sasuke’s eyes narrowed. 

“It’s nothing, I fell earlier,” Iruka lied smoothly. Neither boy looked convinced.

“Iruka-sensei you’re like the most graceful person I know, since when do you fall?” Naruto asked suspiciously. 

Iruka mock frowned at him, using his good hand to rub his head and mess up his hair. “Everyone falls sometimes. I wasn’t paying attention and I didn’t realize what was happening until it was too late. I’ve got a brace in my first aid kit, a couple of days and it should be fine.”

Naruto seemed somewhat appeased, Sasuke still looked suspicious, but Iruka wasn’t about to tell them that the Hokage had broken his wrist because Iruka had been disrespectful during a meeting. Iruka’s fight with Tsunade would just worry the two boys and might lead them to do something stupid.

“Come on, I’m starving and I don’t remember where the first aid kit is.” Iruka ushered them out of the hallway.

“I saw it when I was cleaning, I’ll get it,” Sasuke disappeared into the small laundry closet next to the bathroom.

“I’ll see what we have for dinner! Come help me Iruka-sensei!” Iruka let himself be dragged into the kitchen. This was a tactic Naruto had used multiple times when he wanted to talk to Iruka about something that usually turned out to be pretty serious.

Once they were in the kitchen Iruka started looking through the cupboards as Naruto made tea.

“Hey, Iruka-sensei, do you know what they’re planning to do with Sasuke?” Naruto’s voice was uncharacteristically quiet when he finally spoke.

Iruka sighed. “They don’t know he’s back.”

Naruto turned to him in disbelief, “Iruka-sensei…” Tears were welling up in his eyes.

Iruka smiled softly, “You both need to be a full strength for what is coming. He’s not going to be able to hide in my apartment forever, but at the very least you can have a little while to get your heads on straight and figure out what you want to do.”

Naruto sniffed, ducked his head and rubbed furiously at his eyes. When he finally turned back to Iruka his eyes were bright and his smile was blinding. “Thanks Iruka-sensei.” He turned somber then, “You’re always taking care of me Iruka-sensei. No matter how strong I get you still have to protect me.”

Iruka frowned. “I don’t have to do anything Naruto. As far as I’m concerned we’re brothers, we have been since that first day I took you out for ramen. I’ll always protect you, no matter how strong you get.” Parents protect their children. Those had been his father’s last words to him and they’d always stayed with Iruka, especially whenever Naruto was concerned. 

Naruto hugged him, suddenly and tightly and Iruka wrapped his arms around him and held him just as tightly.

“Don’t ever worry about protecting me Naruto, I might not look it but I’m tough and a survivor. No matter what happens I’ll come out okay.” Naruto nodded against his chest. “And I’ll always be there when you need me.”

They stood like that for a moment, before Naruto pulled back, wiping at his eyes again. “I’ll always protect you too, Iruka-sensei.”

Iruka smiled. “That’s what brothers are for.” 

Naruto beamed. “We have to protect Sasuke too, nii-san.” 

Iruka felt a constriction in his chest he hadn’t felt in years at Naruto’s words, warm and painful at the same time. “Of course, he’s practically my baby brother too.”

Naruto nodded, “Yeah, you were pretty close to Itachi before…everything, weren’t you?” 

Iruka sometimes forgot how much he’d trusted Naruto with. “Yeah, before everything. We grew up as brothers. We spent a lot of time together after my parents died.”

Naruto nodded sagely, with a wisdom he was working towards but hadn’t quite reached yet. “I promised him I would protect Sasuke and help him. Itachi sacrificed so much for the village and the people he cared about. I don’t know if I can do that.”

Iruka put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Itachi did the best he could with what he had. There’s so much more to what happened that no one knows. A lot of the avenues and choices were blocked, his options were limited. It could have turned out a lot differently then it did.” Iruka had to pause, to think carefully about what he wants to say next because the instinct to just let loose and rail against the village, Sandaime, Fugaku, Danzo and everyone else involved was still so strong. But Naruto loved the village and he was looking at Iruka with wide trusting eyes and Iruka remembered the little things he loved about the village all those years ago that have remained despite everything that has happened. “No one can say what would have happened had anything been different and dwelling on it won’t help. You’ll find as you grow and meet new people, that the ones who have made the greatest sacrifices, that have achieved the kind of strength you’re seeking, are often the ones who acknowledge the past and leave it there. Itachi always focused on the future.”

Naruto has so many questions he wants to ask, it took a second to settle on the first. “What future was he thinking about when he killed his clan?” 

Iruka’s smile is so proud and so utterly sad at the same time that Naruto immediately regretted the question. 

“Sasuke. The future Itachi was thinking about was Sasuke. The future isn’t always as big as the entire world or the moon or even the village. Sometimes the future is as small as a flower growing in a crack on the sidewalk or the younger brother you adore. You have to remember Naruto, especially when you become Hokage, that the world isn’t the same for everyone. My world is you, my family, my friends, and my students. The village just happens to be where they all are and there are plenty of people in this village that I don’t like. For others the world is the village and everyone in it, like Sandaime. Or gaining power, like Orochimaru. Or the world can be the clan while everything outside of it is meaningless.”

“That’s… how am I supposed to lead when everyone wants something different?” Naruto sounded like he used to when he was much younger and Iruka would talk about advanced theories of taijutsu. Completely lost but still trying.

“You’ll figure it out. It just takes time, learning how to balance requires a lot of give and take. Something shinobi are famous for failing at.” Iruka sounded rueful and Naruto grinned. 

There was another question Naruto wanted to ask, it was obvious. His eyes were narrowed, his brow furrowed in that way he used to look at Iruka when they first met and Naruto wasn’t sure if he could trust the older boy. Iruka waited patiently; Naruto’s curiosity always got the better of him.

“What was Itachi like when you knew him, Iruka-sensei?”

Iruka faltered, a thousand memories assaulting him at once. “He was…gentle. Itachi was never bloodthirsty, he didn’t like killing, but he was so smart that not many things could keep him interested for long. He was constantly trying to learn something new. He’d spend hours a day in the Uchiha library reading everything he could reach.” Iruka smiled, drifting back days when he’d been younger and much more innocent. “We used to go for ramen for lunch every day after he got out of the academy. He’d always complain about going to the same place but we never changed.”

Naruto grinned, “That kinda sounds like Sasuke.”

Iruka laughed, “They are very similar. More than either of them realize.” Iruka had always struggled with that. Seeing a younger, though far more emotional, version of what had been his other half for the first part of his life. He loved Sasuke, regardless of his blood relation to Itachi, but there was a part that always hurt to see the living reminder of what was gone.

“Is it true that Itachi was ordered to kill our clan?” Sasuke’s voice was quiet. Iruka and Naruto both started in surprise, neither had heard him approach. He was carrying the first aid kit and his eyes were downcast.

Iruka sighed and took a seat at the small table in the kitchen, motioning at Sasuke to join him while Naruto finished the tea. Sasuke set the first aid kit on the table, rummaging through it until he found the brace.

It took Iruka a moment to figure out how to explain. “Did Itachi mention anything about what happened while you were with him?”

Sasuke handed him the brace, “He mentioned that there was a lot most people didn’t know about what happened, but he kept talking about protecting the village and not wanting the truth to come out.”

Iruka pursed his lips. That sounded exactly like something Itachi would say. Always working so hard to protect everyone. 

Naruto brought tea over and shoved Sasuke into a seat before sitting next to him. Iruka sipped at his tea before he spoke, choosing his words carefully. “There is a lot the village as a whole doesn’t know about what happened to the Uchiha Clan. There aren’t many in the Hokage’s Tower that know the truth any more either. Most have passed on by now.”

“What happened?” Sasuke demanded and there was a desperation in his voice that Iruka recognizes. An overwhelming desire to understand why his family made the choice they did.

Iruka looked him dead in the eye, “The Uchiha Clan was considering a coup against Sandaime, because they felt they had no other option. The Konoha Council and Danzo ordered Itachi to kill the entire clan. Itachi made the choice to follow the order and save you, rather then disobey and have you both be killed along with the clan.”

Sasuke was silent. He’d obviously suspected something along those lines. Iruka would have been surprised to find out that Danzo hadn’t revealed anything when Sasuke had killed him. Naruto’s eyes went back and forth between the two of them over the top of his cup.

Sasuke sighed and theirs an air of defeat to it. “That’s what I thought. I was hoping there was more to it.”

“There is,” Iruka assured him, “But its complicated and difficult to follow and most of those involved in the outcome are dead. The most important thing for you to remember is that you’re parent’s loved you. Every choice they made, every action, was motivated by their desire to protect you. To give you a better life.”

Sasuke looked suspiciously emotional and hid his face in tea. Iruka and Naruto shared a secretive smile and pretend they didn’t see it. Iruka could imagine easily what he’s thinking, how he can’t see how everyone leaving him was protecting him. Iruka had shared those thoughts more often then he’d like to admit.

“Don’t worry nii-san, I’ll take care of Sasuke-teme. I’ll make sure he’s healthy and happy and he has enough ramen for the rest of his life! I can be his family, and you too of course!” Naruto’s honest enthusiasm made Iruka look at him in surprise.

“I don’t like ramen,” Sasuke muttered, but didn’t argue with anything else the blond said.

Iruka blinked and wondered if he’d heard the exchange correctly. Neither boy was saying anything more but Iruka could have sworn he’d just heard a vow to stay together forever. Maybe he was looking to far into it and he cursed Itachi. The die- hard romantic had always believed that the more arguing and the stronger the rivalry the stronger the feelings. 

There’s a knock at the door. Iruka surprised and worried, until he recognized the chakra signatures on the other side of the door. He motioned Naruto and Sasuke to stay put and went to answer. They were all standing crowded in front of his door. Sakura in the lead, glaring angrily and flanked by an equally angry Ino, a nervous and blushing Hinata, and a smirking TenTen. Shikimaru, Choji, Kiba, Shino, and Lee are standing behind them, arms crossed. They looked like they were trying to be intimidating but they were failing miserably. No matter how strong they got Iruka’d treated too many scraped knees and bloody noses for that to ever work on him.

It was Sakura who spoke, the one who’d always been so respectful of her elders and a teacher’s pet when she was much younger. There was steel in her voice now. “Iruka-sensei, we know they’re here. Let us in and no one has to get hurt.”

Iruka raised an eyebrow, inexplicably proud but not willing to just roll over without making them work for it. “Sorry, who exactly is it you think is here?”

“You know who, Iruka-sensei,” Sakura was gritting her teeth so hard she could barely get the words out.

“It wouldn’t be wise for us to say it out here, you never know who could be listening,” Shikimaru pointed out quietly.

“Or watching,” Shino added softly. 

Ino pulls out a small flowery notepad and starts scribbling something furiously. When she finished she ripped it off and shoved it in Iruka’s face. 

It took all he had not to fall to the floor laughing. In Ino’s pretty, extremely girly hand writing is: Hand over the idiots for their punishment Iruka-sensei!

Iruka decided he’s going to frame that note and put it on the wall. He snatched it out of Ino’s hand and stepped aside to let them in. Closing the door firmly behind them. They were still toeing their sandals off when Naruto and Sasuke, oblivious to what was about to happen, peered into the hallway.

“Oi, Iruka-sensei who-“ Their jaws dropped comically at the site of their classmates. Sakura turned red in rage.

TenTen puts out an arm, stopping everyone but Sakura from running at them. “Hey, Sakura gets first dibs.”

“Err, Sakura-chan! Wha-what are you doing here?” Watching Naruto try to shove Sasuke back out of view and lie through his teeth is comical. He was a horrible liar and Sasuke’s too shocked to move himself so Naruto’s attempt at subtle shoving wasn’t going nowhere.

“YOU IDIOTS!!!” If Iruka hadn’t done the silencing wards on the house himself he would’ve be worried about someone in the Land of Snow hearing her. The force of her yell could probably shake the old building’s foundations. He slips past TenTen as Sakura lands on her teammates and proceeds to beat them to the best of her ability. Her screams of rage, of how could you leave me you assholes? What were you thinking? Don’t ever do that again! Do you know how worried I was? Why didn’t you trust me? Drown out Naruto’s screams for mercy and Sasuke’s grunted, barely audible apologies and neither did anything to assuage her anger. 

Iruka motioned for the rest of the rookies to follow him and he sent them to the living room as Sakura collapsed sobbing, somehow managing to cradle both of the bruised boys. Both Naruto and Sasuke look like their fighting to hold back their own tears as they hold their pink haired teammate tightly.

The others actually leave them alone for a few minutes while Iruka decides to make more tea, but when he came back out to get them to bring it into the living room he found that Kiba had declared Sakura’s turn over and he and the other boys had a terrifying gleam in their eyes as they advanced on Naruto and Sasuke, who were trying to back through Iruka’s wall. TenTen and Hinata would be kind enough to stop any outright bloodshed and Ino had the muscle to back them up so Iruka tapped Sakura on the shoulder and nodded toward the kitchen. 

She followed him without a word and Iruka didn’t say anything as she collected herself, rubbing away the tears in her eyes and running down her cheeks in the middle of his kitchen, while he tried to balance a tea tray one handed. She pulled herself together quicker then he was expecting, as soon as she noticed he was struggling she appeared at his side to help. Taking over silently and gently shoving him out of the way. Iruka pointed out the extra cups and watched her stack them neatly on his battered tray.

“Iruka-sensei,” her voice was quiet and Iruka turned to her, “Will you promise me something? Next time Naruto and Sasuke decide to do something stupid like this will you tell me? I think all they think about is protecting me so they don’t tell me when they’re having trouble. I want to protect them, especially since they’re too stupid to do it themselves.” 

Iruka chuckled, inexplicably proud of the young girl who’d grown into such a strong young woman. “Alright, but you have to promise me something in return.”

She turned to him, “Anything.”

“Tell me before the three of you do anything that could in any way shape or form be considered stupid.”

Sakura smiled up at him and it struck Iruka that they were going to be as tall as him soon, if not taller in a few years. He could remember when they barely reached his knees and now they were almost adults. It was actually a sad thought, it seemed like it had been such a long time ago that they’d been so small that Iruka could pick up four of them at once.

Sakura swore, hand over her heart. “Always, Iruka-sensei.”

Suddenly there was a scream from the living room. Iruka heard the signature rustling of a teleportation jutsu and he and Sakura rush out just in time to see Konohamaru lunging at Naruto and Sasuke with a deadly gleam in his eyes. Udon and Moegi had landed on Kiba and Lee and were doing their best to hold the two back from interfering. 

“Naruto, you bastard why didn’t you tell you were back?” Konohamaru grabbed the collar of Naruto’s shirt and then Sasuke’s and proceeded to shake the two boys violently while he yelled at the top of his lungs. “What the hell, nii-san! You’re supposed to tell me this shit so I can help you! How could you?”

Neither Naruto or Sasuke attempt to get out of the hold and Iruka saw TenTen start laughing. It only takes seconds before the rest of the room followed her example.

ooo000ooo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations (from google translate so please correct me if I'm wrong):
> 
> Taka - Hawk
> 
> Hanta - Hunter


	5. Ōku no chie ga mōke rarete iru

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asuma and Neji are resurrected and Kikyo, Itachi and Shisui begin their return to Konoha.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still don't own anything.
> 
> Still don't have a beta.
> 
> This chapter turned out way longer then I was expecting so I've split it into two. On the upside another update is coming as soon as I finish editing the other half and it will include an IruKaka lemon!

ooo000ooo

Chapter 4  
Ōku no chie ga mōke rarete iru  
Are provided in the wisdom of oak

If fate is a millstone, then we are the grist. There is nothing we can do. So I wish for strength. If I cannot protect them from the wheel, then give me a strong blade, and enough strength to shatter fate. – Kurosaki Ichigo, Bleach

ooo000ooo

: :Mission Room Lounge, Hokage’s Tower: :

Kakashi was sprawled out on a battered old couch in the lounge off to the side of the mission room when Kurenai entered with Gai at her side. He was angled so he could watch Iruka running the mission’s desk, flanked as always, by two chuunin Kakashi had never spoken too. Though he’d picked up their names by eavesdropping on conversations. According to all sources Kotetsu and Izumo were close friends of the Academy sensei, both were regarded as competent chuunin and their pasts were as murky as Iruka’s. 

Apparently they’d been part of what one scared and now retired jounin had amusingly call the Seven Years of Tribulation, during which Iruka had apparently been a prankster and troublemaker similar to Naruto. Although from what people had described, Iruka had been a whole lot worse. Kakashi figured that was probably what had caused Iruka to take an interest in the Naruto in the first place. One former Academy instructor he’d spoken too had collapsed into mumbling jitters when asked about Iruka’s pranks and all Kakashi had managed to get out of him was ‘hellspawn’ and ‘demons’. At that point Kakashi was actually impressed at the impression Iruka had apparently left on his former teachers. Kakashi had spent most of the morning wondering how the wild child had turned into the prim and proper desk worker that yelled at Kakashi for writing his mission reports with bloody kunai.

Kakashi raised a hand in a lazy salute and lowered his book as they settled in next to him. In the rush for Konohagakure to recover many of the jounin sensei were taking high ranked missions without their teams. While most of the chuunin and genin teams had been dedicated to recovery efforts inside the village. Kakashi had only gotten the chance to see Sakura a few times and he’d felt bad that he’d never had any news about Naruto and Sasuke for her. Kakashi himself was starting to get worried, it had been just over three months and he worried about the state they were in. Even though he’d failed as their teacher Kakashi still felt responsible for all three of them. He’d never felt so powerless before.

Gai’s booming voice broke through his revelry. “My Eternal Rival, how are you this wonderful afternoon?” 

“Maa, the same as always.” 

Gai glanced towards the mission’s desk then back at Kakashi, an amused glint in his eye. Kakashi kept his mouth shut, glaring at the other man. If Gai wasn’t going to confide his troubles in Kakashi, Kakashi wasn’t going to confide his in Konoha’s Legendary Green Beast.

Gai’s personality hadn’t changed one bit since the war, but something was wrong that he had yet to share. He hadn’t challenged the Copy-Nin to one of their famed competitions since their return to the village; nor had he invited anyone to train with him, which several shinobi had commented on. Kakashi was becoming increasingly worried about his friend.

Genma and Raido appeared in a flash of smoke and leaves and dropped down on the couch opposite Kakashi. Both shinobi looked exhausted and ruffled, their uniforms stained and torn in various places. Several visible bruises made them look like ill-made patchwork quilts.

“What happened to you guys?” Kurenai’s voice held a hint of concern. 

The two jounin groaned and replied in unison, “Mission.”

Kakashi winced in sympathy, no further explanation needed. It was an unspoken understanding among shinobi, especially jounin and ANBU. Sometimes the only thing that could describe exactly how horrific a mission was; was that one word. Kurenai and Gai both nodded in sympathy and Kakashi found his eye drawn back to Iruka as the group lapsed into silence. The tan chuunin was frowning over Yamato and Sai’s mission report, the two shinobi staring at him blank faced as they waited. Kakashi, who knew both of them pretty damn well, could see the tension in both their shoulders. Neither shinobi were the type to back down from an opponent and Kakashi found it endlessly amusing that they both dreaded turning in mission reports and went to unhealthy lengths to avoid it. Kakashi himself planned every visit to the mission desk and timed it according to when Iruka was scheduled to work. Watching the Chuunin turn red at the very sight of the Copy-nin made Kakashi feel warm inside.

He watched closely, aware that the rest of the room’s occupants were doing the same, as Iruka finally looked up from the report. The look he leveled at Yamato and Sai was the same one he’d seen the academy sensei level at his pre-genin students when they were being exceedingly stupid. Naruto had told him plenty of horror stories about that look. It was full of disappointment, sarcasm, and outright mockery. “This is your mission report?” His voice matched his face and Kakashi saw Genma wince out of the corner of his eye. The senbon favoring jounin got yelled at almost as much as Kakashi did for his mission reports.

Both Sai and Yamato gave small nods and Kakashi winced himself at that, though he made sure it didn’t show on his face. Never show weakness, Kakashi mused, animals could sell fear. 

One of Iruka’s eyebrows rose as he held the report up. “This is a picture of two stick figures doing something. I don’t know what, but it kind of looks like they’re dancing with some sort of mutated octopus. I think there’s two other people involved but it’s hard to tell since they also look like they could be two dogs cooking. But that doesn’t really seem to make sense, since I know you were on a mission to the Land of Snow and I can’t imagine a single way dogs were involved.” Both Sai and Yamato looked like they wished they anywhere else or that the floor would open and swallow them whole. “Do it again correctly or the next mission you get will involve the marsh, an angry cat, and lots of leeches.”

Everyone in the lounge shuddered. That mission was well known as a punishment for unruly genin teams and had been assigned to a few jounin who’d let their egos get too big. Needless to say, they were back to adequate size after that experience. Sai and Yamato took their mission report back and meekly slunk into the lounge. Kurenai waved them over as the rest of the room went back to their own business. 

“Still in one piece?” Genma teased.

“Like you fair any better,” Yamato returned as Sai pulled out a blank mission form.

“Umino-sensei is just trying to help,” Kurenai defended the sensei softly, “He’s a teacher, it’s his nature to get you to do your best.”

Neither Yamato or Sai argued. Yamato had spent time as a jounin sensei, to Kakashi’s own team at one point; he can understand where Iruka is coming from. Sai doesn’t argue either, though that might have more to do with Naruto’s influence then anyone else’s. Sai had been a victim to Naruto’s adoration of the chuunin sensei on multiple occasions and Kakashi was sure that Sai, who stills truggled to fit in with others his own age, had absorbed some of the hero worship if the effort he was putting into redoing the report was any indication.

“How are you doing Kurenai?” Raido’s question was asked softly, with an air of exhaustion. None of them had had much time to catch up and relax since the war ended.

Kurenai’s answering smile was brittle. “It still hurts. I’m pretty sure that’s never going to go away, but it’s just a dull ache now. Not the vicious stab it was in the beginning.”

It’ll never fade completely, Kakashi thinks but doesn’t say. Kurenai knows. All shinobi know. Loss is a powerful thing that never really leaves you once it’s visited and there is no way to live the life of a shinobi without experiencing it at least once. Kakashi flicks another glance towards Iruka, turned in his seat and talking to the spiky haired chuunin Kotetsu. He wonders what loss Iruka has experienced. He’s heard the story of Iruka’s parents from Naruto, but despite his somewhat obsessive and secretive questioning of anyone who might know something about Iruka when he was younger, he’s never heard of any other family members. No serious friends aside from the two chuunin and even those comments are scarce. 

“I wish I’d had a chance to get my hands on Black Zetsu, I might not have been to do much but I would have made him suffer at least for a little bit.” The hatred coming off Kurenai in that moment is impressive and it reminds Kakashi of why he likes her so much. Even in the midst of overwhelming emotion she remembers her own abilities and remains self-aware.

“Have you been to see Yakushi yet?” ANBU is more then wiling to turn a blind eye when it comes to revenge. They’d let Kurenai have a few hours to beat the living hell out of Kabuto if she asked. 

But Kurenai just shakes her head, her expression soft. “No. It’s not his fault, not enough for me to want to hurt him anyway.”

They all turn to stare at her in disbelief at that. Yakushi Kabuto is the stuff of nightmares after seeing what he was capable of during the war. 

“Seriously?” Genma squawks. “He resurrected Asuma!”

Kurenai nodded with an edge of sadness. “I know, but…” she trailed off. “There’s extenuating circumstances.”

“Like what?” Raido’s not normally as violent as the rest of them, but he definitely sounds like it now.

Kurenai frowned and shook her head. “Never mind.”

“No, tell us. What extenuating circumstances?” Genma demanded.

Kakashi sits up relatively straight and added his gaze to the others pinned on Kurenai. She glared at all of them, but there’s little heat to it.

“Its nothing, I just…I knew him when he was a student at the Academy. He was there when I was an instructor,” she paused, fiddling with the fabric of her dress. “He was always incredibly smart, but he had a hard time making friends. He kept getting pulled out of the Academy for missions and then he had to spend extra time making up for what he’d missed.”

“They took a kid in the Academy on missions?” Raido repeated in disbelief.

Kurenai snorts, “Something like that. He was in Iruka’s class actually and I know Iruka wasn’t happy about it. Iruka and I used to talk about him.” This time her pause is to control her anger. “Iruka found out a couple years in that Kabuto was part of Root, Danzo’s rouge ANBU faction.”

“What?!” Genma’s squawk echoed and everyone stared at her in disbelief.

“I knew he was part of Root but I didn’t realize he was doing missions that early,” Yamato commented.

Kurenai shrugged. “Iruka threw a fit when he found out and we both suspected that Kabuto’s problems with his social skills and struggling when he was so smart were due to being forced into Root so early. A lot of the time he’d switch personalities or change moods day to day. He had a lot of trouble figuring out who he was or who he wanted to be.”

Kakashi can’t sympathize with that. With being a soldier at a very young age yes, but not with struggling to know what you’re supposed to be. Kakashi was supposed to be a ninja from the day he was born and that will never change. His path was always crystal clear in front of him, even after his father died. The loss he’d experienced along the way had only served to motivate him to become a stronger shinobi.

“It’s hard to blame Kabuto when I saw him change into what he is now at the Academy. I didn’t put in much effort to help Iruka fight for him, so I don’t feel right laying the blame on him when he could have been saved and I didn’t do anything.”

Kurenai’s words are powerful; none of the others have been in that situation. They can’t imagine what they would have one. Though everyone likes to think they would have tried to help, it’s never a sure thing until it actually happens. The idea of willing and intentionally destroying a child until he turns into someone like Kabuto is horrifying. Kurenai is one of the most carrying people Kakashi has ever met, to know that she failed, that she couldn’t care enough when it counted is a sobering thought.

“But Iruka fought for him, you said? What great, youthful spirit!” Gai cheers. “Iruka-sensei’s dedication to his students is truly admirable!” And again he’s sending that sly smile Kakashi’s way.

Kruenai’s smile is soft and sad around the edges. “Yeah, Iruka has a bad habit of picking every fight that comes to him.”

“That would not surprise me! I have heard horrible things about Root and what happened to the children Danzo took. It is not the shinobi way. My students have always spoken highly of Iruka-sensei!” Kakashi finally sees a spark of the old Gai as he passionately recounts the many ways he feels Root has betrayed the shinobi way. The most important of which, he declares to be the forced use of children. Kakashi’s not surprised Gai’s against it; Kakashi’s heard his opinion on the subject many times over the years. Even when the war was looming and there were whispers that it was going be just like the Third Shinobi World War and they were going to need every available body, Gai was one of the most vocal voices against pulling in the younger shinobi.

It’s one of the other jounin, Hitsugaya if Kakashi remembers correctly, that takes up the opposite side of the argument and his female companion that looks at Kakashi like he could be her next meal. No matter how often he experiences it, it’s still an unnerving feeling.

“Children are useful as tools, smaller size means they can get in and out of tighter spaces. People make assumptions about them, trust when they shouldn’t.” His voice is cold and Kakashi wonder’s if he’s ever had a genin team. Not, he thinks, if Iruka had any say in the matter.

“Sometimes you have to sacrifice for victory, you can’t go soft if you want to win.” She’s the same jounin that had interrupted Kakashi and Iruka on the street the other day. Kakashi thinks her name is Maho or something similar, but he can’t for the life of him remember where he first met her.

Kurenai snorted indelicately, making her opinion known. “Don’t ever say that in front of Iruka, you’ll end up enjoying a long hospital stay.”

Neither jounin looks very impressed but Kurenai doesn’t seem to mind. Kakashi wonders how much she knows about Iruka that she refuses to tell him. She caught on to his stalking game early on and refused to play any part. Though she did tell him to just man up and ask Iruka out.

Kakashi’s curiosity gets the best of him and he can’t help but ask, “Maa, just how passionate is Iruka-sensei?”

ooo000ooo

: :Mission Room, Hokage’s Tower: :

Iruka had to hide his smile when Shikimaru and Sakura not so subtly showed up in the mission room and refused to leave. The solidarity that had grown among the Rookie 11 was impressive. Iruka hadn’t been able to go anywhere alone in the last few days, at least one of them found some excuse to accompany him and if they can’t, they’ve taken to stalking him until he returns to his apartment. Iruka hadn’t yet gotten to the point where it really bothers him, so he just makes Sakura and Shikimaru handle all the filing and minor office duties. Their eagerness is endearing and it reminds Iruka of the days when he was still young enough to believe that his mere presence would be enough to protect someone from everything.

Iruka was about to ask if they want to break for lunch, his treat, when it happened. Two chakra signatures appeared and Iruka was on his feet in an instant. Shikimaru froze, the files in his hands scattering across the floor and drawing the attention of the few other shinobi mingling around the mission room. Sakura gasped and barely managed to leap out of the way when Sarutobi Asuma and Hyuga Neji appeared in flashes of chakra smoke and scattered leaves.

The room is frozen in shock for just a second. Asuma and Neji stand stock still, eyes open and unmoving and Iruka immediately realized that something was wrong. Their eyes are blank. Not the blank that many shinobi use to conceal their emotions, but blank like there’s nothing there. Iruka doesn’t have time to contemplate it further because Asuma’s chakra knives come out and Neji folds neatly into the Gentle Fist. 

Shikimaru let out a strangled sound when Asuma launched himself at his former student and Iruka barely got across the room in time to get between them. Shikimaru can’t, won’t fight Asuma and Iruka thinks it would be cruel to make him.

Sakura is strong, but she doesn’t yet have the speed or technique to take Neji in a fight. That didn’t stop her from trying though. She launched into the fight with a blind eagerness that she must have gotten from Naruto and relied on what she’s learned about predicting her opponent’s moves and her raw strength.

“Shikimaru, evacuate the building, now!” Iruka’s yell turned into a grunt halfway through when one of Asuma’s fists landed solidly on his ribs. Shikimaru is deeply shaken, but he reacts to Iruka’s order with an uncharacteristic rush, yelling at the others in the mission room to get the fuck out. They can’t go through the doors, because that’s where Iruka and Sakura were attempting to hold back Asuma and Neji so the windows and the lounge were the only options.

Sakura landed a blow that knocked Neji back into the wall and ended up taking down most of the wall in the process. Iruka felt numerous wards go off, raising alarms throughout the village. The mission’s room was probably the second stupidest place to attack; next to the Hokage’s office, it had the most wards and usually it had a large number of highly trained shinobi passing through. 

Shikimaru did his best to get the shinobi in the lounge moving. He was a chuunin, yelling at a lot of shinobi who far out ranked him, but they were moving. Even Kakashi, Genma and their group reacted to his order to get the fuck out before they did anything else. It was probably due to the terror and desperation in his voice. Usually Shikimaru was better at hiding his emotions, but two of his teachers were fighting, one of whom is supposed to be dead and the other that was hiding a missing nin in his apartment like he did it every day, and they’re managing to cause a lot of structural damage while they did it. Shikimaru felt a tightness in his chest, just like the one he’d felt when Asuma had died before the war. Whoever brought him back was going to pay when his team got their hands on them.

Sakura was outclassed. She knew it before she entered the fight and it was a lesson that was getting beaten into her now. But it didn’t stop her from trying. She’s tough; she can take more of a beating then most. Iruka was holding Asuma back with a surprising amount of skill and Sakura felt vaguely guilty that she was surprised by it. When she was younger he was Iruka-sensei, the one with all the answers. The one that knew everything, that always had time to sit down with Sakura and explain everything in so much detail that she understood every aspect of it. She felt guilty that she hadn’t kept up with him as much as Naruto. 

They needed to switch opponents, Sakura realized. She was much better trained to take on someone of Asuma’s skill set, who depended on chakra based attacks, then she was Neji, whose taijutsu left her completely on the defensive. She saw Shikimaru make a desperate lunge for the doorway to the jounin lounge and took a blow that dislocated her shoulder.

“Iruka-sensei!” 

Iruka’s head snapped around at Sakura’s cry and he almost lost an ear to one of Asuma’s chakra knives.

“We need to switch!” 

Iruka was halfway through the hand signals before Sakura even finished talking and the two reappeared in one another’s positions seconds later. Their fight took down the wall and part of the doorway to the lounge. It had been a while since Iruka had taken on anyone half-way skilled in taijutsu and Neji is beyond good. For someone his age with his training, but Iruka had been at a far different level when he was Neji’s age and his teachers had only allowed him to use taijutsu to defend against their own overwhelming attacks. More then that, Iruka’s body was born for the old style of taijutsu that makes what they teach at the academy look like child’s play. 

They crashed into the rapidly emptying jounin lounge and Iruka saw several support beams to the tower shatter.

Sakura managed to get a grip on Asuma’s vest and chucked him hard through the opposite wall leading outside. She watched Iruka execute a combination flip and kick she’d never seen before and Neji went flying through the same wall. It was nothing but instinct that made her follow Iruka as he launched outside to continue the fight.

Sakura found herself facing a barrage of chakra knives as soon as her feet hit the ground, Asuma had not been a highly respected jounin without reason. She managed to avoid all but one, that’s aimed directly for her heart. It was cliché she thought, that Sasuke and Naruto, who have only been back in the village for a couple of weeks, immediately flashed in her mind. They still have bruises from their fight and they still spend most of the day sleeping, trying to recover their chakra. They still need her and Sakura was not ready to leave them.

She didn’t have to it turned out. Shikimaru appeared, reaching out and takes the chakra knife to his forearm, stopping it from piercing Sakura’s heart. 

Guilt washed over her, but she was relived at the same time. “Shikimaru, you don’t have to…” she trailed off. 

Shikimaru gave her a firm nod though, with a small smile. “I know.”

They shared a look, an understanding that neither of them were ready to go anywhere just yet and turned their attention back to Asuma. 

Iruka and Neji slammed into the ground with surprising force. Hiashi, who’d rushed to the Hokage’s Tower the moment he’d felt Neji’s chakra signature, barely managed to leap out of the way. 

There was a crowd gathering, the jounin are finally starting to react. It’s only been a few seconds but the shock of seeing Asuma and Neji, who’s deaths were felt so strongly by every shinobi in the village, was enough to make even Konoha’s most elite ninja stare in shock for a few seconds. 

Iruka managed to pin Neji, after knocking him hard enough into the ground to stun him with a technique Iruka hadn’t used in over a decade. Using a trap jutsu and chakra laced rope he kept the Hyuga genius pinned and immediately looked for Sakura and Shikimaru.

Sakura launched into an assault in Asuma, knocking him back until his back was to Shikimaru and the talented Nara used his family’s signature jutsu to grab ahold of Asuma’s shadow and rendered him immobile. It was a surprisingly unsurprising end to the fight. Asuma might have been strong enough to break free if he’d been himself, but whatever this shadow of the former jounin sensei was, couldn’t even twitch.

There was an odd moment of silence. For the most part the jounin and other shinobi present had circled around the five combatants, ready to pull out or take out, whatever became necessary. A few had disappeared; there were people to notify so decisions could be made and orders given. 

The Hokage arrived with Shizune, Taka and a squad of ANBU as Iruka dragged Neji over to Asuma, Sakura and Shikimaru.

Kakashi, Gai, Raido, Yamato, Sai and Genma were standing around a stunned Kurenai, equally ready to leap into the fight of to keep her out of it at a moments notice. Iruka was pathetically grateful that they were there for her; putting aside the age-old notion that shinobi can have no emotions and show no weakness.

The Konoha Council arrived and Iruka had to fight the urge to grab Asuma and Neji and make a run for it. To disappear somewhere he can handle the situation himself. Sakura and Shikimaru didn’t react to the Council’s arrival as much as they reacted to Iruka’s sudden tension and flash of anger. To their credit, nothing showed in their body language or expression.

“What the hell is going on?” Tsunade demanded, pushing her way through the gathering crowd. She stopped dead when she saw Asuma and Neji. Shizune, always at her shoulder, gasped in disbelief. Tsunade’s eyes strayed to Iruka with a question he’s surprised she’s looking at him for answers to and all he could do was nod. Yes, they’re real, solid, here.

Asuma and Neji are still struggling and Iruka half expected them to start foaming at the mouth. Whatever was controlling them had a strong hold and he hasn’t seen anything like it before.

“Finish them off,” Koharu ordered immediately, stunning most of those present.

“What?” Genma’s outburst was echoed by several shinobi. 

Unnoticed by most Taka motioned to one of his ANBU and the man disappeared immediately. There was only one shinobi alive that had the knowledge necessary to deal with resurrections and regardless of whatever orders the Council wanted to give, Taka was not ordering the execution of any Konoha shinobi without ruling out every other possible course of action first.

“No one is executing anyone until we know for sure what is going on,” Tsunade snapped, facing off against the Council.

“They attacked Konoha shinobi,” Homura pointed out, much calmer then the situation dictated he should be. “That is an act of war.”

“Bullshit!” A masked ANBU returned, completely forgetting who he’s speaking too.

“They’re obviously under some sort of genjutsu,” Kakashi pointed out as calmly as he can. “We should figure out who’s controlling them.”

“And if it can’t be done?” Koharu demanded, “What if they get loose?”

“They will not get loose. The Hyuga clan will take responsibility for their imprisonment until the genjutsu can be broken,” Hiashi interrupted, inserting himself into the conversation without fear. As one of the most influential clan leaders in the village Hiashi had a certain pull with the Council and the elders.

Another ANBU stepped in, “Or we can hold them in the ANBU cells, they won’t get out of there either.”

“There is no way to know for sure if the genjutsu has been released,” Homaru argued. “They could pretend for weeks, months even. Lull us into a false sense of security for an even more devastating attack.”

Iruka, Shikimaru, and Sakura watched the argument grow with apprehension. The Council was not backing down and while they didn’t have many, they did have some supporters. Asuma and Neji were dead men if the Council got control of them. Iruka turned back to Neji. The boy’s eyes were wide and white and blank, except…Iruka focused, looked as deep as he could and he sees a spark of something hidden behind wall after wall. Neji’s habit of hiding his emotions had only helped whatever is controlling him, because Iruka could barely pick out the spark. But he did see it. Neji was still there, buried so deep as to remain unseen unless someone actually looked hard for him. Which meant he wasn’t a puppet, not a soulless clay model. It was Neji and Iruka reached out and touched his forehead and the boy flinched. 

Neji was like Sasuke that way, not used to physical displays of affection or unnecessary touching. He snarled but Iruka held him in place easily.

“They’re not puppets and its not a jutsu,” Shikimaru stated and Iruka nodded. 

“What do we do?” Sakura hissed, watching the Council and Tsunade continue to argue. More and more shinobi were showing up. Drawn by the commotion and the chakra signatures.

Iruka concentrated. He couldn’t use anything too flashy because it would draw to much attention to what he was doing. The first spark of elevated chakra levels or kekkai genkei and every secret he had will be out in the open for all to see. It took a moment for his chakra to stretch out; it’s been so long since he’s had to do something like this, it’s like he’s stretching muscles that haven’t been used in years. 

He reached out, his chakra stretching, and he found it. A small, barely there chakra signature in Neji’s chest that didn’t belong to the young Hyuga. He looked closer and refined his search. There’s a red string coming from the center of Neji’s chest. Its chakra signature is so weak that it wouldn’t have been noticed at all without a serious effort and a high level of skill.

Iruka tapped it with his finger and Neji’s whole body twitched. Sakura and Shikimaru gasped and leaned forward. Iruka could see the exact moment they saw the red string he took between his fingers.

“What is it?” Sakura asked, “I can just barely feel its chakra.”

Iruka frowned, “I don’t know.”

“It’s what’s controlling them though,” Shikimaru stated and they both turn. He had an identical red string, coming out of Asuma’s chest, in his fist. Every time he tugged in one direction or another, Asuma twitched. “Whoever planted it must be sending the commands through the string.”

Kurenai couldn’t take her eyes of Asuma. She was supposed to be better then this. An elite jounin of Konoha. Her emotions should not have been ruling her but they were. Asuma was just feet away and all Kurenai wanted to do was run to him. She couldn’t though; her feet were stuck to the ground like she’d been caught in Shikimaru’s shadow jutsu. She didn’t fight it, because underneath the panic and overwhelming desire, she was insanely grateful. 

Taka’s ANBU reappeared with Ibiki and another squad of ANBU. Ensconced inside their protective circle was Kabuto. There were no chains; there wouldn’t have been any point. Ibiki and Taka got dragged into the argument between the Hokage and the Council, but Kabuto wandered over to Iruka and dropped onto a crouch next to him. His ANBU guards followed discretely. He’d been so cooperative, so little trouble, but still edgy enough that even ANBU was inclined to give him some freedom. It wouldn’t stop them from killing him if the time came.

Iruka and Shikimaru held up the red strings and Kabuto frowned. A tear slid down Asuma’s face. 

“Weak chakra signature,” Kabuto hummed, “The string is probably what’s being used to control them. Even with that weak of a chakra pulse, if it’s sent directly into a chakra center it would have the same influence as a powerful genjutsu.”

“How do we stop it?” Shikimaru asked, trying to look everywhere but at Asuma’s face. Sakura had tears welling in her own eyes.

Kabuto shruged. “I’m afraid I’ve never used this method before. Or seen it used. The ability to maintain the string over such a distance would take someone with an impressive amount of chakra and control.”

“Could we use a conflicting chakra pulse, send it the opposite way?” Sakura suggested.

Kabuto frowned. “Perhaps, but I don’t know that it would do anything. It’s likely that what is ending as a small pulse started as a larger one in order to survive the distance. The blast wouldn’t remain large enough to do any damage at the opposite end.”

“We could just cut it,” Iruka mused and the other three looked at him in surprise. Kabuto’s ANBU guards remained impassive in the background. They could hear the argument waging between the Council and the Hokage, everyone in a hundred foot radius could, but they had yet to make a move to stop Iruka or Kabuto from doing anything.

Iruka had been impulsive since the day he was born. It was why he had half the scars he does and all of the friends. He took stupid risks on people for the smallest reasons. He’d started looking after Naruto before he knew who he was, solely because his blond hair reminded Iruka of the sun. 

Iruka pulled out a kunai and cut the string leading out of Neji’s chest. The string stretched briefly, but the kunai had no problem cutting it with a minimal amount of force applied. The limp strand of string hung out of Neji’s chest, the opposite end disappeared, and Neji almost seemed to wake up. 

“Iruka-sensei?” Neji’s voice was a little shaky and rough with disuse. 

Kurenai watched Iruka cut something in front of Neji’s chest. She saw a brief flash what looks like red string before it faded completely and an obvious change overcame Neji. Something in her chest constricted, when Neji look up and she could see the young jounin who’d tried so hard to fit in to his own family.

“It worked,” One of Kabuto’s ANBU guard exclaimed and inadvertently gains the attention of everyone in the area. Kabuto cast an angry glance his way, showing a spark of temper that he had, until now, kept tightly under control.

The Council and Tsunade both begin making their way over and Iruka knew it would be over as soon as they got there. Tsunade might have been willing to let Iruka cut Asuma’s string to see what happened but the Council wouldn’t. In a fit of desperation Iruka lunged and cut the string coming from Asuma’s chest as well.

The Council started yelling in anger and Tsuande was demanding to know what was going on just as loudly. Iruka mustered the most innocent expression he could; it’s actually pretty damn good considering he got at least one from several of his students every day. He put all his effort into it and said “Oops,” as convincingly as he could. 

The Council was furious and Iruka had the amusing thought that the single flag in his file was no longer going to be a fluke, because that is definitely going to get him a second one, if not jail time.

Tsunade was incredulous. She’d seen that lunge, seen the second Iruka had made the decision to do it. There was no oops about it. She’d seen Iruka cut something that looked like a red string, but it was gone now and Tsunade couldn’t see anything as she walked over to crouch in front of the two bound shinobi. Her ANBU guards made a sound of distress that she’s getting so close but Tsunade wasn’t the Hokage without reason. The two shinobi that meet her gaze were battered, slightly bruised, and very confused, but they were also the Sarutobi Asuma and Hyuga Neji that died defending those they cared about. 

“Asuma, Neji?” She kept her voice soft, calm, comforting. Both shinobi looked very young as they stared at her. “Are you going to attack us again?”

“No,” Asuma’s voice was gruff, scratchy. Neji just shook his head. 

Tsunade took a deep breath. Her gut said it was them. The fact that Iruka, Sakura, and Shikimaru and even Kabuto look like they were ready to jump in if anyone so much as tried to lay a hand on them just added to that belief. But Tsunade’s not stupid, the more she counters their desires, the more the Council would push until they do have the upper hand. “Taka, Ibiki, take them into custody. They’ll remain there until we know for sure the hold over them is broken. Shizune will accompany you to carry out a medical examination.”

Shinobi started moving to follow the Hokage’s order, murmurs started and suddenly the area was far to busy. Iruka stepped back, pulling Sakura and Shikimaru along with him and stayed well out of the Council’s line of sight in a spark of self-preservation.

Kabuto stepped over to Iruka quietly, drawing the young teachers attention. His ANBU guards still had a close eye on him, but they stayed a step behind at the moment. They were surprisingly attuned to the emotions of others from behind their masks and sensed that the conversation coming was a personal one. Sakura and Shikimaru weren’t as attuned, because they stuck close to Iruka and eyed Kabuto with suspicion. Kabuto didn’t mind their presence though, he was rather fond of the Rookie 11 and he had no issue having a personal discussion in front of them.

“Ah, Iruka-sensei, do you have a moment?” Kabuto smiled, which amusingly enough, seemed to make Sakura and Shikimaru more suspicious. 

“Of course.” Iruka hasn’t spoken to Kabuto face to face since before the Forth Shinobi World War when Yajirobi had insisted on letting him find his own way. They have a bad habit of that the Hanta, Iruka thought, they gave almost to much freedom when it came to deciding what path to take. Yajibori still believed that the only way Kabuto would overcome all the damage done by Danzo and Orochimaru would be to let him follow his chosen path to the end until he realized the truth himself. It looked like Yajirobi had been right and Iruka was chagrined to realize he owed the other man a very expense bottle of sake.

Kabuto pushed his glasses up his nose, he’d decided to keep them after everything, and felt a sudden, uncharacteristic nervousness. Between what Kabuto remembered from his childhood and time at the academy and with the insanely high regard Yajirobi and Naruto held the sensei in, he felt like he was stepping forward for judgment from a god. But there was no animosity from Iruka; just a warm feeling that seemed to emanate from the teacher. “I wanted to apologize and say thank you.”

“For what?” Iruka looked honestly confused.

Kabuto felt like he was back in class, shuffling his feet nervously as he faced his teacher. “You fought for me.”

Now it was Iruka’s turn to shuffle, reaching up to awkwardly scratch his scar as a blush rose, “I didn’t succeed.”

Kabuto smiles, honest and bright for the first time in a very long time. “But you tried.”

When Kakashi finally pulled his gaze away from his resurrected friend he immediately looked for Iruka. He found him, standing away from the main crowd and flanked by Sakura and Shikimaru, both of whom are leaning heavily against their former teacher. Sakura actually had her arms wrapped around Iruka’s arm, as all three faced Kabuto. The former Akatsuki member looked very much his age at that moment. One hand kept pushing his glasses up his face as a small blush graced his cheeks. He looked up at Iruka through his lashes, like a child worried about impressing the adult he was facing. Iruka was blushing himself, scratching absentmindedly at his scar as he smiled at Kabuto and Kakashi had the inexplicable urge to stomp over to the group, grab Iruka and yell ‘He’s mine!’ But he was smart enough to know that that would likely result in his body being rent limb from limb by the academy teacher. 

He was struck by the thought that Iruka can make S-Class missing nin blush like school children and he wanted to yell at the sky, what the hell?! He’s still not sure what he did to make the other man hate him so much, he was convinced it went beyond the chuunin nominations, but Iruka always found a way to avoid saying anything that would be remotely useful in figuring it out. He seemed content to spend the rest of his life hating Kakashi for whatever reason. 

There’s one thing Iruka wasn’t counting on though and that’s Kakashi. He’s the Copy-nin, genius, Master of a Thousand Jutsu and he was tired of coming home every night to an empty apartment. He wanted a partner, someone to spend the rest of his life with. He didn’t want to die like so many shinobi did, alone and regretting what they could have had. He doesn’t know exactly why he’s so fixated on Iruka being the one, he’s gotten plenty of other offers, but the chuunin’s dislike and temper have made it impossible for Kakashi to even consider someone else until this challenge is resolved. He didn’t want to spend his life with a partner that fawned over him and laughed at whatever he said. Kakashi’s not that funny. He wanted someone to yell at him when he was being lazy, to cook him dinner on his bad days and demand he cook them dinner on theirs. 

And for some, so far unknown reason, he’s chosen Umino Iruka. He thinks it might be some unknown deity’s idea of a horrible joke. 

ooo000ooo

: :The Road to Konoha, Land of Snow, Land of Iron: :

Kikyo sighed and stretched fluidly, feeling her muscles shift and waken. The cold felt good on over worked muscles, but it left her feeling stiff. The Land of Snow lived up to its name and Kikyo, despite her love of the fire jutsu and taijutsu that her clan favored, had enjoyed the years she’d spent there. The small temple she’d been living in was comfortable and more importantly well hidden, allowing her to heal and retrain Shisui until he was recovered from his final confrontation with Danzo. 

It had taken her years to do it. Not to mention the fiasco that had been searching for his barely breathing body and the weeks it had taken to sneak him out of Konohagakure without Danzo or his Root ANBU finding them. Travelling to the temple hidden deep in the mountains of Snow had taken months; she’d had to stop constantly to heal him to the point where he’d survive further travel.

But it had been worth it in the end. Uchiha Shisui of the Body Flicker was alive, even stronger then he’d been the day he’d faced Danzo, despite the loss of his eyes. Kikyo had painstakingly trained him to use his other senses and chakra to make up for his blindness and he’d succeeded beyond her wildest expectations. His large chakra reserves, a signature of their clan, let him see far beyond what the normal eye could see and he could identify individuals through their unique chakra lines with more accuracy than any Hyuga she’d ever seen. Judging from Iruka’s communications only the oldest daughter of the current head had any chance of reaching Shisui’s level of awareness. And apparently she’d been removed from her inheritance because her clan thought her weak. It was a complicated situation according to Iruka, but it just sounded like people being stupid to Kikyo. It seemed like the shinobi of Hidden Leaf had become so obsessed with attaining strength that they’d forgotten what it actually was. They were going to get a nasty wake up call if they didn’t wise up.

She glanced over at her two travelling companions. Their plans to travel to Konoha had been put on hold by the Forth Shinobi World War. Kikyo had chosen to recover Itachi when she realized he’d been resurrected with the others. Getting his body back hadn’t been easy; avoiding the Allied Shinobi Forces was difficult. They’d filled the areas surrounding the battlefield with scouting party after scouting party and though Kikyo had managed to get Itachi out without getting caught, there were a few Allied Shinobi with a few hours missing from their memories. Kikyo had even felt a little bit of guilt about using the Sharingan on unprepared opponents but she’d gotten over it quickly.

It had taken an additional three months to heal Itachi; he’d been smart enough to do what he could to keep his body alive when he’d felt Kikyo’s chakra pulse. Healing Itachi had really just been an intensive realignment of his chakra lines and he was ready to fight again, though she hadn’t been able to completely erase the side effects of the plague he’d suffered from for the rest of his life.

Itachi and Shisui had been thrilled to be reunited and cautiously hopeful about the future. The news of Danzo’s death had heartened them considerably and Kikyo really hoped that he was going to stay that way. She hadn’t shared her suspicions, both Itachi and Shisui needed time to get their feet back on the ground and Kikyo wanted to get them back to their remaining family as soon as possible.

The trip was going to be long though. The war was over but the hassle of having someone recognize the two supposedly dead Uchiha wasn’t worth it. To that end they’d set out a few days ago on the road to Konoha, travelling at night and under heavy genjutsu. They were making good time, Itachi and Shisui, driven by a chance to see what was left of their family, were pushing the pace on their own. Kikyo maintained the genjutsu, years without a challenging fight left her with chakra to spare and she folded it around the three of them layer after layer.

Dawn had broken an hour before as they entered a large agricultural area that signaled the end of the Land of Snow and the beginning of the Land of Iron. Kikyo was fond of the samurai way of life and had a special place in her heart for the practice of Bushido. But it was like the ninja arts, some parts were good, others not. Itachi had spent most of their walk so far explaining what had happened since Shisui’s supposed death, with Kikyo interrupting every once in a while to share news Iruka had sent that they’d both missed. 

They needed to find shelter, some place to rest and sleep until night fell again. Some where away from wandering eyes. The endless fields were pretty but they provided no protection. There was a farm coming up, which meant people and they’d made a point to avoid spending any extended amount of time around anyone. Kikyo figured they could continue onward for bit, until they’d safely cleared the farm. Both Itachi and Shisui were smart enough to continue walking as if nothing had happened when the famer left his house to pull water from the well out front. Though Kikyo dropped the genjutsu in shock.

Itachi and Shisui just kept walking, if anything, becoming more determined to continue and doing their best to ignore the fact that the Yondaime Hokage was apparently alive and well and a farmer in the Land of Iron.

For his part, Namikaze Minato didn’t seem to recognize any of them, turning a friendly smile and wave on Kikyo as he continued pulling water from the well. Kikyo stared at him, her memory inadvertently flashing back to the last time she’d seen the genius. Technically the second to last time, she didn’t count when she’d seen his battered body after the Kyuubi sealing. They hadn’t parted on good terms, but then, that wasn’t surprising. Minato had been the first Hokage of Konoha that didn’t have a strong tie to the Uchiha Clan. Kushina and Mikoto had been friends, but that relationship had never passed on to their husbands and after Obito’s death there hadn’t been anything to bind them together. Minato’s prize student, Sakumo’s son, hadn’t wanted anything to do with the clan after he’d lost his teammate and had come to posses one of their eyes.

Yondaime had been the first Hokage to come in at a time of peace. He hadn’t called on the Hanta nor had he learned their identities until a period of time after he’d become Hokage. Kikyo’s dealings with him had been brief and heated. Having Minato question her service and loyalty to the village hadn’t given her a good impression and his foolish desire to have a child with the Kyuubi carried hadn’t helped. Despite the Uchiha’s best efforts Kushina’s pregnancy had been doomed from the start. Mikoto had been inconsolable for a very long time afterward, especially when she’d been refused permission to adopt Kushina’s newborn son.

Shisui and Itachi kept walking, fighting the urge to turn back.

“We’re just going to keep walking,” Shisui stated and Itachi nodded furiously next to him. They were determined to ignore him, focused solely on getting home to what was left of their family. The Yondaime spelled nothing but trouble and delayed travel at this point. Enough time had been wasted already.

A sudden deafening crack made them stop.

“Don’t turn around,” Shisui muttered.

“We can make the boarder of Konoha in two days if we keep going,” Itachi argued. 

They both turned.

Shisui hollered when he saw what had happened. “What the hell Kikyo? You destroyed his house!”

ooo000ooo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tranlastions
> 
> Hanta - Hunter


	6. Ni tsunagatta chūshin-bu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iruka and Kakashi hook up and Sakura realizes that she still belongs with Team 7. It's all fluff this chapter!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...this was supposed to be done much sooner, but I ended up rewriting the whole thing and then rewriting it again so I finally just stopped and decided to post what I had.
> 
> There is a lemon in this chapter, its Irukaka so be warned!
> 
> I still don't own anything and I still don't have beta!

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Chapter 5  
Ni tsunagatta chūshin-bu  
Center that leads to the

One of the oldest human needs is having someone to wonder where you are when you don’t come home at night. – Margaret Mead

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: :Hokage’s Office, Hokage’s Tower: :

Tsunade collapsed at her desk with a groan. The Council had finally left after arguing with her for six goddamn hours about Asuma and Neji. They wanted them turned over to ANBU so they could be interrogated but Tsunade was convinced that the minute the Council had the chance they’d both be dead. She’d had ANBU take them for the initial exams, but Hiashi and several of his clan’s best shinobi were standing by to take custody as soon as Shizune finished her checks. 

Hiashi had not backed down in the face of the Council’s rath, which had impressed Tsunade, and he’d agreed to keep several ANBU on the clan grounds as additional security. Tsunade had been struck by the odd thought that Uchiha would have been perfect for this situation. She could remember the Military Police Force they’d led and the faith Hiruzen had had in their ability to handle every situation from missing nins to traitors to mental breakdowns. No one had ever escaped their hold. 

Kakashi was doing his best to use his Mangekyo Sharingan to assist with the investigation but his knowledge was limited, despite his years of training and studying with the sharingan. Sasuke might have actually been more helpful in this situation, given his access to his clan’s library. Until he returned though, that library was sealed deep within the Uchiha compound and no one had access.

Tsunade grabbed a bottle of sake and went to take a deep drink. She let out a cry of frustration when she realized the bottle was empty and slammed it down on the table. The pain that erupted from her wrist and spread up her arm made her howl in shock and clutch her wrist.

“What the hell…” she trailed off. Her wrist was broken, not seriously but a decent fracture that she hadn’t noticed because of its placement. “When did that happen?”

She hadn’t fought anyone lately. She’d been stuck doing paperwork since the war ended and the only time she’d had to get physical with anyone had been the other night with Iruka.

“Son of a bitch!” Tsunade seethed, but there was a hint of respect and pride underneath the anger, “That sneaky little brat.” The brush of Iruka’s finger tips against her wrist when she’d held his wrist and broken it. He’d broken her wrist in return, but subtly enough that she hadn’t noticed at the time.

The anger faded as Tsunade healed her arm. It wasn’t bad; she could have healed it in her sleep. It was the fact that he’d gotten it past her was impressive that spoke to a level of skill she hadn’t thought he had. Though now that she thought back on the reports of the fight earlier that day, Iruka had been the one to take the brunt of the fight, taking on first Asuma and then Neji when Sakura had struggled to match the Hyuga genius. Apparently the academy sensei held a higher level of skill then everyone assumed.

A small smile stole over Tsunade’s face as she eyed the towers of stacked papers surrounding her desk. Iruka could do a good chunk of her paperwork as payback for her wrist and that would give her the chance to ask about his investigation into the Hanta. Maybe she’d even get to know the temperamental chuunin a little better in the process.

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Kakashi had escaped while Ibiki and Hiashi were hashing out the security arrangements for Asuma and Neji. The investigation had concluded for the day, after Shizune had declared that both shinobi needed rest before any other tests were conducted. Kakashi had debated staying to keep an eye on his friend or trying to use his influence to get Kurenai in but the woman had disappeared after they’d been taken into custody. Kakashi figured she probably needed some time to sort herself out before she faced Asuma and he’d decided to leave her alone for now. 

Iruka had disappeared quickly too. Kakashi returned from escorting Asuma and Neji to ANBU headquarters only to find out the chuunin had already been cleared to leave. So had Sakura and Shikimaru. Kakashi spared a brief thought for the Nara, seeing Asuma again had to be tough. Getting attacked by him even worse. Kakashi hoped the kid had someone to talk to. Kakashi made a mental note to hunt down Sakura the next day though and check in on her. Right now though, Kakashi wanted to talk to Iruka.

Iruka, according to the witnesses, had performed admirably against both Asuma and Neji during different points in the fight. His performance had, several shinobi commented, been quite above the level of most chuunin. None of them had been expecting to see the level of skill he’d displayed and that left Kakashi with two conclusions about the outspoken academy teacher. Either he’d gotten lucky, which was unlikely, or he was hiding his true skill level, far more likely. But that made Kakashi wonder why Iruka would hide his abilities. Why not just go for jounin when he was clearly at that level?

Even more interesting was the skill Iruka had displayed in taijutsu. He’d used a flip and kick combination Kakashi had never seen before to pitch Neji outside. Kakashi was more then intrigued by the idea of a taijutsu combination he didn’t know. He’d never seen Gai use anything like it and he wanted to learn it. But more then that, he wanted to learn about Iruka. He’d tracked the chuunin’s chakra signature to his neighborhood but he’d continued past his apartment almost absentmindedly and was headed for the small park at the end of his street. Night was falling, it hadn’t yet completely, but it was dark enough that there was no else around when Kakashi teleported himself right into Iruka’s path and threw several deadly kunai at the teacher. 

To his credit, though Iruka had been completely lost in his thoughts, he reacted the second he heard the telltale whistle of kunai in the wind. He twisted, immediately identifying Kakashi as the attacker and the four kunai flying at him. Iruka’s stomach dropped violently as the four kunai scattered across the ground where he’d been standing seconds earlier. Iruka launched himself into the park on instinct and didn’t stop till he’d reached a small, relatively unknown clearing. Kakashi was hot on his heels and a dark weight settled on Iruka’s shoulders. It figured that it would be Kakashi they sent to kill him; the Council probably had no idea of the irony in their choice. Things would truly come full circle if Kakashi and Iruka killed one another.

Kakashi followed Iruka into the clearing and stopped. The other shinobi was simply waiting for him, he hadn’t made a single move to attack Kakashi or actually defend himself, aside from running into the park. Kakashi studied the other man, while he waited for his reaction. The younger chuunin looked sad, Kakashi realized, but why? While Kakashi was fully aware of his fondness for the man, he hadn’t thought it was returned all that strongly. If at all. But Iruka was looking at him like Kakashi was about to end his world. Why hadn’t he defended himself?

Iruka waited, but Kakashi didn’t attack. He just studied Iruka and the teacher felt like a bug under a microscope. It made him angry that Kakashi was drawing this out. “Well?”

Kakashi blinked. “Well what?”

Iruka glared, “Aren’t you going to attack me again?”

Kakashi cocked his head to the side, hands stuffed deep into his pockets. “Why sensei, do you want to fight?”

Iruka frowned. If Kakashi had been sent here to kill him he was doing a terrible job of it, but why else would he follow Iruka and throw a bunch of kunai at him? “Why are you here Hatake?”

Kakashi let a bored expression settle over his face, though little of it was visible due to his mask and hiate. “Maa, I was curious.”

Iruka frowned again. “Curious?”

“You fought Neji and Asuma with a certain amount of skill Iruka, I didn’t think you were that good,” Kakashi shrugged. He wasn’t about to sugar coat things just because he liked the man.

Iruka’s temper rose. “You attacked me in the middle of the street because you didn’t think I was that strong?” His voice rose with every word and Iruka was yelling at the end. “What if someone had seen you? Or there had been children around? Are you crazy?”

“There’s no one around sensei, or do you think that lowly of my skills?” Kakashi asked, his own temper rising slightly.

Iruka let out an inarticulate sound of rage as his temper got the best of him.

Kakashi had a second of smug superiority before Iruka was on him and their fight began. Iruka’s temper ruled him in the beginning, it was obvious and Kakashi held back until the other man had calmed down. It didn’t take long, a calculating look came over Iruka’s eyes and they stopped dancing around the clearing like genin and started flying around like shinobi. 

Kakashi’s speed was impressive for someone who didn’t practice at it constantly and he seemed fond of using kunai, senbon, and several other projectile weapons. Iruka dodged them all, he didn’t like projectile weapons, especially in enclosed spaces. In the heat of battle Iruka rarely drew on them or even remembered he carried them. He wouldn’t be able to hit Kakashi with any of them anyway. The jounin’s chakra had stayed steady so far, which meant he’d have full reserves when the fight progressed to chakra based attacks and techniques, which would immediately put Iruka at a disadvantage. Kakashi would recognize the differences in Iruka’s chakra immediately, especially because of his time with Obito and Sasuke.

Iruka seemed content to simply dodge everything Kakashi threw at him and Kakashi wondered if the other man even remembered he had his own arsenal. He carried it, Kakashi knew that for a fact, but he didn’t seem to be in any hurry to use it. His speed however, adjusted to whatever he needed effortlessly. Kakashi had had one nearly breathless moment when Iruka’s speed had far exceeded what Kakashi was capable off and he’d dodge a row of ten kunai in one step. His chakra never spiked, it remained slow and steady and smooth and Kakashi frowned. The chuunin was holding back, just as Kakashi was. Iruka, Kakashi noted, had an impressive amount of control.

Iruka felt the air change the second Kakashi’s chakra spiked and he immediately launched forward to prevent Kakashi from using whatever chakra-based attack he was starting. He didn’t land the blow but he managed to knock Kakashi off balance and made it a taijutsu battle by pressing his advantage.

“Not bad sensei. Who taught you taijutsu?” Kakashi was no slouch when it came to taijutsu either; he trained with Gai constantly and had a natural aptitude that made him one of the best in the village. Iruka, he was pleased to note matched him blow for blow using the simple basics of the fighting style. There was no flash or pomp with the academy teacher.

“The one who came down from the mountain,” Iruka answered honestly, knowing Kakashi would have no idea who he was talking about. Sakumo had kept his son far away from the Hanta in a desperate attempt to keep him safe; he’d never met the woman responsible for founding the Hanta. That demon who’d drilled Iruka and the others until their hands and feet bled day after day. Iruka shuttered at the thought of Kakashi and Kikyo ever meeting.

Kakashi frowned and neatly back flipped, avoided Iruka’s high kick. “Is that some sort of codename?”

“More of a nickname,” Iruka shrugged and ducked one of Kakashi’s fists.

“Mmm, he sounds interesting.” Kakashi smirked as he feigned left and struck right and frowned when Iruka didn’t fall for the feint and blocked his fist.

“She’s a demon in human flesh,” Iruka muttered, but there was a strong fondness under the anger. He kicked at Kakashi’s knees and immediately leapt away. “But she’s one of the best teachers I ever had. I’ve never forgotten a single lesson.”

“Oh,” Kakashi’s actually curious now. He’s heard Tsunade’s rants about the stubborn chuunin and wanting to beat whoever made him that way. Given that they grew up in a similar time, only a few years difference, during the Third Shinobi World War. They’d been so pressured to put more shinobi in the field that the soul focus of teaching was obedience and strength. Iruka’s preference of teaching his students to think and problem solve for themselves had only come into practice several years after the war ended and the peace had proved stable. Kakashi’s own sensei, Minato, had managed to balance both views, but Kakashi had seen the results of sensei who had not. “Is that who made you such a rule follower sensei?”

One of these days Iruka was going to smack Kakashi for saying sensei like that, low and dirty in a way that made Iruka’s stomach tighten and twist. “Actually, they taught me something very different.”

“They?” Kakashi pulls a one two-punch combo that Iruka had to roll to avoid.

“I’ve had a lot of teachers in my life Hatake, they’ve all taught me something.” From his crouch Iruka swept out a leg, actually catching Kakashi’s ankles. The jounin caught himself and back flipped neatly. “But there are two lessons that have always stuck out more then the rest.”

Kakashi’s sweeping kick nearly took Iruka’s head off and the chuunin left a cloud of dust and grass as he slid across the ground. “And what would those be sensei?”

“Blind loyalty is fine, as long as you know when to dissent.” It’s a violent rule, that’s made the Hanta’s superiors nervous on many occasions. Iruka thought that should probably be their clue to rethink their actions, but he also knows, that its part of why the Council still worked so hard to annihilate the Hanta and the Uchiha. Judging from the frown on Kakashi’s face he’s taking it the way the Council did. 

“And what’s lesson number two Iruka? Plunge the village into civil war every time you don’t agree with something?” Tsunade had made it clear she wanted Kakashi to succeed her as Hokage. Kakashi wasn’t too keen on the idea, but he was more sympathetic to her side then he was to Iruka’s.

Iruka’s snort was derisive at best, making it clear that Kakashi had not taken the right message away but he continued regardless as he folded into a warrior stance Kakashi doesn’t recognize. “Lesson number two. Always get back up, always stand fast, always draw first blood, and always be the first to show mercy.”

Iruka didn’t attack so Kakashi sat back on his heels and contemplated Iruka’s favorite lessons and tried to think of which shinobi had taught him that. “I’d like to met your teachers sensei, they sound interesting.”

Iruka dropped his stance completely, surprising Kakashi, as a horrified look came over his face. “Hatake-san, I pray that you and they never, ever meet.”

Kakashi frowned, “I think I’m insulted Iruka, are you worried I’d embarrass you?”

Iruka frowned, Kakashi actually sounded hurt and Iruka had an uneasy feeling that he’d stepped into something he wasn’t aware of. “No, I’m worried they’d like you.”

Kakashi blinked, Iruka had completely dropped any fighting aura, “Does this mean the fight is over?”

“Why did you attack me Hatake?” Iruka was tired, exhausted not only by the day’s events but by everything that had been happening since the war ended. That feeling pushed its way to the forefront now as he faced Kakashi.

“You’re hiding something,” Kakashi accused, voice calm and cold. He wanted the truth and he was going to push as hard as necessary to get it.

A desolate feeling settled over Iruka, turning his blood to ice. “What is it you think I’m hiding Hatake?”

Kakashi shrugged, “I don’t know, but you held your own against Asuma and Neji which is relatively impressive given your status. It made me think that perhaps there was more to you then just the academy teacher who works at the mission’s desk.”

Iruka blinked, honestly surprised by Kakashi’s honesty. “That’s it?” 

There was disbelief in Iruka’s voice and it made Kakashi wonder what he’d been expecting. He shrugged; sticking his hands back in his pockets since it was obvious the fight was over. It had served its purpose, as short as it was. Iruka was trained far beyond a normal chuunin and now Kakashi had a hint about the chuunin’s own past. 

“Why?” Iruka meant the question to be simple. He should have remembered that it never was.

Kakashi blinked and cocked his head to the side, “I thought that was obvious.”

“Apparently not!” Iruka snapped.

Kakashi started to look sheepish. “Maa, sorry about that sensei, I spent months hitting on you. I thought you’d figure it out.”

“Hitting on me?” Iruka sputtered. “Are you talking about those stupid pickup lines you kept saying?” Iruka was aware that his voice was getting steadily higher. Not long before the war started Kakashi had started asking Iruka if it had hurt when he’d fallen from heaven, if his eyes were made of stars. It had driven Iruka up the wall and made him feel like he was the butt of some unknown joke. Everyone else in the mission room thought it was hilarious and Iruka had actually gotten to the point where he’d been chucking actual scrolls at Kakashi before the jounin had finally stopped. Iruka was still getting shit from Izumo and Kotetsu. The spiky haired chuunin had gone so far as to find an identical mask and tilt his hiate the same way. It was creepy.

“They aren’t stupid,” Kakashi muttered, defensive. “And I tried other things. I visited you at work.”

“You interrupt my classes and distract the students!” Iruka squawked.

“I talk to you whenever I see you,” Kakashi continued.

Iruka glared at him. “You keep bringing up the chuunin exams and telling me I was wrong.”

“I only turn in my mission reports to you,” Kakashi’s visible eye closed, making a happy crescent.

A violent blush rose on Iruka’s face. “They’re always in horrible condition and incomplete! You make me do twice the work making you correct them!” Iruka stopped yelling as it dawned on him and he felt like an idiot for not seeing it sooner. “Pulling pigtails,” he muttered in disbelief and Kakashi was actually starting to look a little cowed now, at the anger building around Iruka. “You’ve been acting like a child with a crush. Are you insane?” Iruka roared.

Kakashi’s shoulders hunched defensively, though it didn’t make him look any less dangerous then usual. “I tried to be obvious.”

Iruka sputtered but couldn’t come up with anything to say. In all fairness, if he thought back on it, Kakashi had been obvious. Now that he knew what he was looking for, Iruka had to admit to himself, that it was in fact obvious. And he felt like a complete fool for not seeing it earlier. “You’re serious? You were actually hitting on me?” 

Kakashi sighed, “There’s no need to sound so surprised sensei.”

“I think there is!” Iruka snapped, “We don’t even get along!”

“That’s a good sign, there’s a spark!” Kakashi announced.

Iruka opened his mouth to yell and then shut it again. Arguing, according to most of Iruka’s family, was a sign of affection. If you didn’t care enough to argue with someone, then you didn’t care enough to have a relationship with them. The serious rows that took place when Iruka was a child were violent and sometimes bloody, frequently demolishing small parts of the compound or someone’s house and they almost always resulted in an immense happiness nine months later. 

And Iruka is struck by the terrifying thought that he’s spent a very, very long time arguing with Kakashi. Shit, Iruka thinks, when did that happen?

“Iruka?”

Kakashi’s voice was gentle, soft, and right freakin’ in front of him. Iruka jumped about a foot in the air when he realized Kakashi had moved to stand right in front of him. His hand was outstretched, like he’d thought of touching Iruka and realized it was a bad idea.

Iruka was struck again by an epiphany. He didn’t know what to do. This was literally the last thing Iruka had been expecting. All his careful planning, all those lessons on observation and human behavior and he’d missed something that was right in front of his face. He hadn’t been expecting it and he had no idea what to do now. Whatever Kakashi was looking for, whatever he was offering, Iruka couldn’t take it now. He had Sasuke and Naruto hiding out in his apartment. The Council was making powerful moves behind the scenes. Asuma and Neji had just come back from the dead and no one had any idea who was behind it.

“Sensei,” Kakashi’s voice was gentle again, calling him out of his thoughts.

“Don’t say it like that,” Iruka blushed, reaching up awkwardly to rub at his scar. 

Kakashi watched the young man struggle. He’d been honestly surprised at Kakashi’s confession, which was sweet. Not a way Kakashi had thought to describe the teacher before now, but he found that he liked it.

“Look Hatake,” Iruka paused, “Kakashi, I’m not…I’m not in a good place right now. I appreciate your interest, really I do.” Iruka had to struggle to push thoughts of Kakashi in his bed, spread out and open, out of his head. “I just can’t right now.” Iruka wanted to, should have said ever, but he couldn’t. As much anger as he still holds towards the jounin, the silver haired man is one of the most attractive people Iruka’s ever met. In another life Iruka might have even found his off the wall attempts at wooing cute and now that the possibility of having Kakashi has been presented to him, he can’t stop thinking about the possibility. 

Kakashi frowned, “You won’t even try? Take a leap of faith Iruka, it could turn out better then you think.”

Iruka struggled, “Its not that Kakashi, I just don’t have time right now. I don’t have the attention to spare for a relationship.”

This was not how Kakashi had been expecting things to go. He’d been expecting some token resistance. Maybe a playful chase, but Iruka looked and sounded like he actually felt guilty about telling Kakashi no. Kakashi wasn’t about to give up though. Iruka said he didn’t have time for a relationship. Kakashi could work with that. “Are you involved with someone else?”

Iruka shook his head, “No, I just have too much going on.”

The jounin nodded, silver hair waving as he did and Iruka had the strongest urge to give it a tug and see how Kakashi would react.

“Then maybe we start out as something else,” Kakashi suggested. He’d had relationships before, admittedly just a few, but he was well versed in sex outside a declared relationship. 

Iruka raised an eyebrow, “Are you suggesting a fuckbuddies kind of thing Hatake?”

“If you want to put it that way and let’s stick with Kakashi, Iruka.” 

“I haven’t agreed yet Kakashi,” Iruka sounded amused despite himself.

“Let’s be frank sensei, you’re stressed and need some sort of relief. I could use the same. Why not work it out together?” 

Iruka frowned. It was a tempting offer. A very tempting offer. Iruka hadn’t been laid in a long time and Kakashi looked like he had the stamina to go for multiple rounds. And the idea of having someone so powerful on his knees had its own attraction. “Are you sure you’d be okay?”

Kakashi smirked, “I’m not a teenager with a crush Iruka, I can handle myself.”

That’s a challenge if Iruka had ever heard one and his concern about Kakashi’s emotions dwindles. Iruka gave in, the first time in a long time he’d just let go despite the risks. He pushed Kakashi against a tree, pulling that infamous mask down, and the jounin let himself be pinned, opened his mouth under Iruka’s and let the chuunin attempt to put his tongue as far down Kakashi’s throat as possible. It’s wet, sloppy in the best way, and it sent a heat through Kakashi that he hadn’t felt in a long time.

Kakashi was a fair trade kind of guy when it came to sex. If his partner was skilled enough he was more then happy to let them take the lead and if the way Iruka kissed was any indication of how Iruka made love, Kakashi was going to be on his back a lot. He’d let Iruka take the lead this time, next time, later tonight if Kakashi had any say in it, he ruin the chuunin to the best of his ability in return.

Someone moaned, low in their throat and Iruka had a brief flash of embarrassment that it might have been him. He pulled back for air and let out a strangled sound at the sight of Kakashi. Cheeks flushed, eyes slightly glazed and mouth swollen. He looked like sex incarnate and Iruka wanted to mess him up even more.

“What, done already sensei?” Kakashi teased, breathless. His hands were twisted in the back of Iruka’s vest, making sure the chuunin didn’t go anywhere.

Iruka glared at him, hands pulling at the Copy-nin’s mask. Working at getting his mouth on Kakashi’s pale, unblemished neck. Iruka didn’t know what it was, but something about Kakashi’s pale skin made him want to mark it up. He started with Kakashi’s neck, his teeth grazed with a bit more force then necessary before he laved the skin with tongue and sucked. Kakashi let out a long, low moan, as a hand made its way to the back of Iruka’s neck and held the chuunin in place while Kakashi shivered. 

Kakashi could feel Iruka’s smirk against his skin. It made something spark in Kakashi’s belly and he hooked a leg around Iruka’s, grinding against the chuunin. Iruka was built better then Kakashi had been expecting. He could feel coiled muscle under his uniform. Power ready to be released at a moment’s notice and Kakashi desperately wanted it against his own without any barriers.

Iruka moaned. His breath hitched as he felt Kakashi hard cock through the confines of his pants. The jounin was rubbing himself against Iruka shamelessly, making little breathless gasps on every down stroke and it fueled Iruka’s already painful arousal. One of Kakashi’s hands was leaving bruises on the back of Iruka’s neck, the other had dropped down to his ass and was rhythmically squeezing in time with Kakashi’s motions.

Iruka traced Kakashi’s ear with his tongue, nibbling on the delicate lobe and tugging gently. Kakashi whined, tilting his head in the opposite direction and shuddering when Iruka’s teeth kept his ear lobe firmly in his mouth. Iruka left a trail of kisses and nips along Kakashi’s jawline as he worked his way back to the jounin’s mouth, pausing every few seconds to shudder and moan at the pleasure running through him.

Kakashi hauled Iruka’s mouth back to his and started sucking on Iruka’s tongue the most obscene way he knew how. Iruka responded by pushing him further back into the tree, so hard that Kakashi actually started feeling the bark through his uniform and vest. Iruka’s hand slipped down to his ass and a powerful squeeze made Kakashi arch into him. “Fuck, sensei…” Kakashi moaned into Iruka’s mouth as wrapped his legs around the chuunin’s waist and held on at the tan skinned nin started rubbing himself against Kakashi in a way that made it incredibly hard to think. 

The pleasure was spreading; growing in little leaps as Iruka pressed against him and rubbed. They were dry humping against a tree and it was going to be enough to make Kakashi come if they didn’t stop soon. It was a struggle to move his hands off Iruka and form the signs for a teleportation jutsu. Iruka must have recognized the movements, because he pulled Kakashi away from the tree just in time and the next thing Kakashi’s realized he was flat on his back on his own bed.

Iruka spared a second for a quick prayer of thanks that he didn’t recognize the room they ended up in. That meant it was Kakashi’s, hopefully, and not his. Given his current guests, teleporting there could have ended up in a lot of bloodshed and yelling. He pulled back to admire the sight below him. Kakashi was sprawled out on dark, navy blue sheets, face tinted pink and covered in a very light sheen of sweat. His mask was rumpled and twisted around his neck, his hiate was close to falling off and Iruka fumbled as he tried to get Kakashi’s vest unzipped.

Kakashi laughed as the chuunin struggled with his vest, unable to resist teasing the younger man as he fumbled with the zipper, “Having a little trouble there, sensei?”

Iruka glared at him and finally gave up on the vest, instead he stood and starting pulling off his own clothes. “Get your damn vest off Hatake and the rest of your clothes too.”

Kakashi gave an exaggerated shiver and a leer at the commanding tone of Iruka’s voice, “So bossy, sensei. Gonna teach me a lesson?” He did as Iruka said and stripped himself in what was probably record time. Kakashi grinned when Iruka shuddered and visibly had to control himself at Kakashi’s words. There was definitely something there they were going to explore later. But for now, Iruka was naked, Kakashi was naked and his cock was hard and leaking against his stomach. He gave it a few tugs, settling deeper into the bed as his eyes fell to half mast and beads of pre-come dripped over his fingers. He spread his legs as Iruka stared down at him, a shell-shocked look on his face. “Iruka,” the chuunin’s name came out more breathy then Kakashi had been intending, more of a moan then he’d wanted it to be, but it seemed to stir Iruka to action.

Iruka climbed onto the bed, settling between Kakashi thighs and finally getting his hands in Kakashi’s hair. He tilted the jounin’s head back with a bit more force then necessary and took his mouth like he owned it. Kakashi jerked under him, whimpering as Iruka’s abdomen trapped Kakashi’s hand and cock between them and applied enough force to his strokes to make him twitch. Iruka swallowed his moans before moving down. Biting gently on Kakashi’s adams apple as it bounced up and down with Kakashi’s uneven breathing. 

Kakashi shuddered violently when Iruka turned his attention to his nipples. The application of teeth and tongue took Kakashi apart piece by piece and left him shaking under Iruka until they were hard and peaked and throbbing. The cold that settled when Iruka moved away made Kakashi gasp and squirm, then cry out when Iruka blew a warm breathe over each. 

The chuunin’s mouth moved south with determination and Kakashi nearly jackknifed off the bed when Iruka pried his hand off his cock and swallowed him down in one go. “Fuck!” He let out a garbled moan as his hands buried themselves in Iruka’s hair, the tie flying someone off to the side of the bed. The head of his cock brushed the back of Iruka’s throat and Kakashi twisted on the bed, hips thrusting without any semblance of control. Tiny bursts of light went off behind his eyelids as waves of pleasure ran through him, making his muscle spasm uncontrollably. 

Iruka dugs his fingers into the crevices of Kakashi’s hips and held them down as he hollowed his cheeks and sucked. Kakashi’s head thrashed against his sheets, his fingers pulled Iruka’s hair almost painfully. Kakashi’s cock was hot and heavy in his mouth, jerking with every suck and Iruka watched as Kakashi tired his best to fight against Iruka’s hold and thrust into his mouth without abandon. He was so overwhelmed with pleasure that his attempts were half hearted at best and Iruka kept him pinned easily.

Kakashi’s heels dug into mattress as he tried to get leverage. His toes curled so hard around his sheets that the muscles in his calves started to cramp. Iruka’s tongue was doing ridiculous, wonderful things to the underside of Kakashi’s cock. Kakashi was moving steadily closer to the edge, sweat dripped into his eyes, making them sting so he squeezed them shut and distractedly tried to rub his face against the sheets. “Gods, Iruka!” 

Kakashi’s voice was low, rough, so close to breaking. Iruka pulled off his cock with a pop and Kakashi whined as the heat left and the cold made him shiver. “What are you doing? Get back there!” Kakashi was breathless, demanding while he laid out wrecked in front of Iruka. It made the chuunin smirk; made his cock impossibly harder till it almost hurt. 

“Where’s the lube?” Iruka was a bit breathless himself and he had to take several deep breaths while Kakashi dug around in the nightstand drawer until he found the lube to keep himself under control. Kakashi practically threw it at and Iruka slapped his thigh hard in retaliation when it bounced off his forehead. Kakashi’s laugh turned sharply to a moan and his cock jerked. Iruka raised an eyebrow as he popped the cap to the lube and Kakashi blushed. “You like being spanked Kakashi?” 

Kakashi’s blush strengthened but he raised an eyebrow in challenge. “Only when I deserve it.” 

Iruka fumbled the lube violently and it went everywhere. ”Fuck you,” Iruka seethed as his cock jumped at the idea of bending Kakashi over and making his ass burn.

Kakashi grinned cheekily, “If you get on with it yes. What’s wrong sensei? You look a little overwhelmed,” his voice dropped into a low timbre that swept over Iruka like warm honey.

Iruka took another deep breath, trying to steady his hands as he pushed Kakashi’s thighs further apart. They quivered under his touch and Iruka scattered several nips across the unblemished skin. Kakashi’s legs jerked with each one and Iruka pulled back to admire the red marks that would take a couple days to fade. He watched Kakashi’s face as he slid a hand down, fingers brushing gently against his entrance as it twitched against his touch. Kakashi’s hips moved involuntarily, pushing against Iruka’s fingers. 

“Come on sensei, get on with it.” If Iruka didn’t start moving faster Kakashi was going to take things into his own hands. The fluttering touch of Iruka’s fingers against that place made him shake in the most delicious way. He grabbed a pillow and shoved it at Iruka. The chuunin shoved it under Kakashi’s hips and gently rolled Kakashi’s balls in one hand as he started pressing a finger inside. 

It was always an odd feeling at first; being invaded and Kakashi hissed once as Iruka’s finger slipped in past the knuckle. It took a few strokes of Iruka’s finger before Kakashi relaxed enough for a second. Squeezing his eyes shut and throwing an arm across them as he tried to breath. It came out in shaky gasps as Iruka peppered his hips and abdomen with biting kisses and steadily worked his fingers in deeper. Kakashi’s free hand twisted in the sheets as Iruka’s fingers stroked places that hadn’t been touched in a while. Fissures of pleasure were making their way up Kakashi’s body and he spread his legs as wide as he could. Iruka licked Kakashi’s cock from root to tip as he stroked Kakashi’s inner walls and searched for that bundle of nerves he knew would drive Kakashi crazy.

“Aah!” Kakahshi’s cock jumped at the stroke of Iruka’s tongue and he lifted his hips into Iruka’s fingers. “Oh!” Iruka’s fingers found Kakashi’s prostate and pressed with unerring accuracy. A blinding wave of pleasure made Kakashi cry out, hips stuttering as Iruka worked him open and slipped in a third finger. The burn was hot and brief, fading almost immediately into another wave of pleasure when Iruka’s fingers returned to his prostate. 

Kakashi eyelashes fluttered under his arm and the sight made Iruka’s cock twitch. Kakashi’s lashes were long, delicate; they didn’t really fit with the image he projected as the undefeatable Copy-nin. Especially when they fluttered like a butterfly’s wings in response to Iruka’s fingers. 

“Move it along sensei, I’m ready,” Kakashi looked down at Iruka, eyes barely visible. One of Iruka’s hands stroked up his flank and grabbed a handful of his ass, opening him further as Iruka’s fingers pulled out.

“You sure?” Iruka asked, breathless himself. He grabbed the lube again; he was so hard spreading it over his cock was almost painful. Kakashi lifted his head, running a hand through his sweat-slicked hair and pushing it out of his face. He looked like a feast set out just for Iruka.

“Get fucking on with it Iruka or I’ll take care of it myself!” It was an empty threat. Kakashi was shaking and had to concentrate to actually talk. His lips were swollen where he’d been biting them in an attempt to keep himself quiet. One hand was still tangled in the sheets with such a ferocious grip that his knuckles were white. His legs were trembling; spread wide around Iruka and the chuunin had a hard time pulling his gaze away from the expanse of pale skin standing out starkly against the dark blue of Kakashi’s sheets. Kakashi looked like a marble statue come to life. 

The blunt head of Iruka’s cock pressed against his entrance. Kakashi took a deep gasping breath as Iruka pushed in. There was pain, dull and throbbing as Iruka pushed in all the way to the hilt, but it faded quickly and all that was left was the overwhelming pleasure of being so perfectly full. Kakashi’s hand tightened in his hair as his other hand released the sheets and moved to pinch his nipple. It sent violent jolts of pleasure through Kakashi, becoming overwhelming in combination with the throb of Iruka’s cock inside him.

Iruka trembled as he held himself still, trying to control the urge to just let go and pound Kakashi into the mattress. He watched Kakashi fondle his own nipples and they turned an angry burning red at the violent ministrations. Kakashi was making small, broken noises every time he moved, his hips making tiny aborted movements as he tried to work himself on Iruka’s cock. Kakashi’s legs wrapped around Iruka’s waist, pulling him impossibly closer and deeper. Iruka groaned; Kakashi was impossibly tight and hot around him. 

Iruka gave in, pulled out and thrust back in with more force then he’d initially meant to. It was just so hard not to bury himself as deep as he could in the Copy-nin and Kakashi didn’t make it any easier as he gripped Iruka’s biceps, digging blunt fingernails in so hard it would leave marks, and throwing his head back as he lifted his hips to met Iruka’s thrusts. The pace started slow, until it got to be so much that Iruka stopped caring if Kakashi was ready and started putting effort behind his thrusts. 

Kakashi let out a gasp as Iruka’s thrusts picked up their pace and bolts of lightning starting shooting up Kakashi’s spine. He tightened his legs around Iruka’s hips, heels digging into the chuunin’s lower back in an effort to make him go faster. It was too much and not enough at the same time, Iruka was reaching the deepest parts of him and then he found that bundle of nerves and groaned low in his throat as the pleasure doubled. Iruka was watching him, his hair falling around his face, sweat dripping into his eyes. Kakashi leaned up and lick a drop sliding down the teachers chin. It made Iruka groan and his tempo fluctuate. Kakashi shook violently when Iruka thrust hard against his prostate and stayed there, pressing and the pleasure didn’t stop, didn’t cease. There was no respite and Kakashi couldn’t go anywhere to escape. He was trapped, speared on Iruka’s cock as the chuunin refused to let up. Kakashi could feel the flex of Iruka’s muscles under his hands when he finally began to thrust deeper into Kakashi but no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t touch every part at once. His hand slipped on the chuunin’s muscled arms as his palms began to sweat and Iruka’s body became covered in a thin sheet of perspiration. 

Iruka could feel the change in Kakashi when he found his prostate, could feel the pleasure building in the other man when all he could do was hang onto Iruka and pant. He was getting tighter around Iruka in everyway possible and Iruka knew he wasn’t going to last. Maybe next time he could draw it out, but not this time. He thrust desperately into the jouninn and the pace made Kakashi cry out as Iruka pounded into him. Iruka’s own pleasure was building, the edge was near, it was impossible to stave it off with Kakashi’s clenching around him and making gasping little moans at every instroke. Iruka’s answering grunts were almost drowned out by slap and slide of their skin.

Kakashi’s eyes kept falling shut and as Iruka felt his orgasm build he desperately wanted Kakashi to come first. He grabbed a fist full of Kakashi hair and jerked the jounin’s head back, latching on to the sensitive spot at the junction of his neck and should and bite down hard as he thrust in deep, nailing Kakashi’s prostate. Kakashi’s eyes snapped open and he let out half garbled scream as his orgasm slammed into him, washing over him like a tidal wave of sensation and overwhelming pleasure. His hands scrabbled uselessly against Iruka’s arms in a desperate attempt to hold on. Iruka continued to thrust as his own orgasm rose, moving through the aftershocks of Kakashi’s orgasm until the jounin was twitching helplessly below still speared on Iruka’s cock and unable to get away. It was the sounds he was making that tipped Iruka over the edge, soft mewling whimpers as Iruka thrust into his over sensitized body and he was too fargone to stop him. Iruka’s orgasm slammed into him as he gave one final, deep thrust and buried himself as far into the jounin as he could.

The heat that came with Iruka’s orgasm in Kakashi’s already overwhelmed system made the Copy-nin jerk violently one last time and he let out a surprised cry, body arched under Iruka’s before he finally collapsed completely.

Kakashi was muttering unintelligibly, mismatched eyes staring unseeing at the ceiling while his body shook and the sharingan turned slowly. His hands were still locked like a vice around Iruka’s biceps, leaving bruises that were going to last for weeks, and Iruka knew the other man’s hands had to be cramping by now. Iruka was gasping for breath, staring down at the jounin and struggling to hold himself up rather then collapse on the other man. Kakashi’s legs were still locked around Iruka’s waste, but they fell away when Iruka finally started to pull back. Falling uselessly onto the bed. Iruka pulled out and paused to admire his come leaking out of Kakashi before collapsing next to him.

“Shit,” Kakashi muttered and Iruka nodded in agreement. That had been much more intense then either of them had expected and they lay in silence trying to catch their breath. Night had fallen and the moon was visible through the window. The moonlight cast an eerie pallor on the world outside and across Kakashi where it shone through the window. He was a stunning sight, Iruka would readily admit, bonelessly sprawled out against sheets that look like the rippling ocean at night. He looked like a bright star against it and Iruka had to fight back the urge to reach out and touch him.

Iruka was already in over his head. Sleeping with Kakashi was amazing but Iruka couldn’t help but wonder what Kakashi would do if he found out every little dirty secret Iruka was keeping. Iruka had never been good a separating his emotions and his actions. They tended to get irreparably tangled together in knots so complicated Iruka couldn’t even figure out where they ended and began and Kakashi had the ability to be the most complicated one of all.

Kakashi had no desire to move, the sheets and his skin were cooling rapidly and it felt good on muscles that were just beginning to realize how sore they were. He turned to Iruka, face have hidden by the sheets and watched the chuunin catch his breath. His caramel skin glistened in the moonlight, giving him an ethereal glow, like he was getting ready to fade away. Kakashi was about to reach out and touch him when Iruka spoke.

“I need water,” he turned to Kakashi who’s visible eyebrow raised.

“Don’t look at me, you did the fucking sensei, you get the water. Next time when I fuck you I’ll get it. Oh, and I want one too.” Kakashi smirked with all the energy he had left. 

Iruka rolled his eyes, but his lips were twisted in a small smile as he levered himself up. “That’s a great way to treat a guest Hatake,” Iruka mocked, but there was a note of fondness in his voice that told Kakashi not to take it seriously.

“Hey, I’m the most hospitable host in history at this point,” Kakashi leered, “I let you into the deepest, darkest recesses of my temple. It scared there.”

Iruka smacked his thigh without much force, shaking his head in disbelief. “Is that a line from one of your precious pornos?”

“Miki says it to Lee in Vol. 13, although he treats it like the honor it is,” Kakashi fake pouted and Iruka laughed and stood.

“Alright, water it is.” 

“Kitchen’s straight down the hall,” Kakashi flapped a hand in that direction. “And bring a wet towel too, or I’m using your shirt to clean up!”

Iruka threw him a dirty look over his shoulder, but since he didn’t seem to have problem walking through Kakashi’s apartment naked Kakashi figured it was just for show. He stood once Iruka was gone, stretching and hearing several things pop. He felt good, relaxed and sore in all the right places. He started pulling the dirty sheets off the bed, he had plans for a repeat performance before sunrise but on clean sheets.

Iruka paused in the doorway, two glasses of water and a wet towel balanced in his hands. Kakashi was remaking the bed with clean sheets, Iruka’s come was till visible dripping down between his legs and Iruka felt his own cock stir again at the sight. Kakashi’s hair was even wilder then it normally was and he looked relaxed in his own home with the mask or the hiate to hide half his face. It was a good look on the man, one Iruka truly appreciated. It was almost enough to make Iruka forget all the trouble that was brewing, the danger that was growing in Konoha, the anger.

He thought of Kakashi’s own father and the complicated relationship he’d shared with Tsume and Shibi and the sacrifices all three had made for the betterment of their clans and the village. And he thought about how, no matter what happened and what choices they’d made, they had always come back to one another in the end. Iruka’s father had called them the greatest definition of love you’d ever see in the flesh. He’d told Iruka that it wasn’t about the attraction and the passion but the acceptance and the trust. 

ooo000ooo

Sasuke scrubbed his hair with a towel viciously, attempting to dry it as quickly as possible. A quick glance into the living room found Kotetsu and Izumo sacked out on the floor, but Iruka had yet to return. The two chuunin had scared the hell out of everyone when they’d suddenly appeared in the apartment a couple of days ago, but Iruka had quickly explained that he trusted them and had asked them for help. Sasuke actually liked them. Izumo was quiet, but viciously funny and he had seals running over his body that he hadn’t explained yet. Kotetsu was a mother hen to rival Sakura, but he allowed no weakness either and he had the same sarcastic wit as Iruka. Listening to the two of them talk was an education in the art of insulting someone and Sasuke had filed several away for future use. Kotetsu was also, Sasuke had noticed, the only one who outright challenged Iruka on his decisions. When he’d found out about Sasuke and Naruto he and Iruka had gotten into a yelling match that lasted two hours and had only ended when Yajirobi had arrived and literally thrown cold water on both of them. Yajirobi was Sasuke’s favorite and the one responsible for Kabuto, which made him terrifying. 

Sasuke stepped into Naruto’s room and closed the door as quietly as possible. Hinata, Kiba and Shino were spending the night and the team, with Akamaru, had co-opted Iruka’s bed. Kiba was going to have a hell of time getting rid of the dog hair before Iruka noticed it. Their sensei was amusing anal about having a spotless bed, he’d made Sasuke and Naruto wash his sheets three times to get all the mud out.

He tossed the towel in the hamper by the door and climbed onto the bed. It was late, darkness had fallen and the moon was up. Naruto was already in bed, propped up on pillows by the window and staring out at the stars.

“What are you doing dobe?” Sasuke crawled under the covers and tucked his body as close to the blonde’s as he could. Shoving his cold feet against Naruto’s calves in an effort to warm them up.

“Hey, asshole, your feet are freezing!” Naruto exclaimed, shaken out of his thoughts. He glared at Sasuke, who grinned back without shame. “How the hell are you a Uchiha with feet that cold?”

“Its normal idiot, winter’s here.” 

Naruto narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but that didn’t stop him from hauling Sasuke closer. Twisting so the Uchiha was half way under him on his back. Sasuke shoved Naruto over to get a decent piece of the pillow, but ended up with his head tucked in the junction between Naruto’s neck and shoulder, looking up at the same stars Naruto couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of.

Sasuke settled in, the heat from Naruto’s body warming him slowly from the outside in. Sasuke wondered if the blonde was a furnace because he had the demon fox inside him or if it was just Naruto himself. Either way Sasuke, who ran hot but always felt cold like all Uchiha, had no shame in bumming heat of Naruto has much as possible. Right now the blond was too distracted to even notice. 

“What are you staring at Naruto?”

“The stars.” Naruto sighed and Sasuke stayed quiet, waiting for the blond to continue. “Do you remember the overnight field trip we took at the academy, when Iruka-sensei explained what the stars were?”

“Gas?” Sasuke guessed, since that was in fact, what stars were.

“No,” Naruto chided him like Sasuke was still schoolboy. “What they really are.”

“That is what they really are dobe,” Sasuke dug his fingers into Naruto’s ribs and the blond tangled their legs together and effectively pinned the dark hair boy to the bed in retaliation.

“No, remember, they’re souls.”

ooo000ooo

: :Years ago, Forest Outside the Gates of Konohagakure: :

It had taken Iruka three hours and two additional chuunin and a jounin to wrangled his class when it was finally time for them to sleep. The annual overnight field trip was always exhausting for everyone involved; especially the teachers and Iruka had no qualms about blackmailing Kotetsu, Izumo, and Yajirobi into helping him with his class. They’d spent the entire day covering tracking and concealment and the students were filthy and starving. Izumo and Yajirobi’s impromptu cooking class had scarred everyone, including Iruka and Kotetsu for life, and he’d over heard several students declare they were going to be vegetarians for the rest of their lives.

It would last a week Iruka mused, but now most students had blood and gore to add to the mix of mud and leaves covering them. Iruka fully intended to return them to their parents smelling and looking as horrible as possible. The one year he’d returned them clean he’d been accused of not teaching them anything, the hell he was going to hear that shit again.

Now they were tucked together on the small traditional style bridge that crossed one of the many small rivers in the forest just outside the gates of the village. It was their last night out, tomorrow morning they started the trek back to the gates to meet up with the other classes. The river was filled with lily pads and reeds and the moon was a thin crescent. Iruka was leaning against the railing, Naruto and Sasuke tucked close on either side of him, arguing. Sakura and Ino were arguing next to Sasuke, while Shino and Hinata quietly watched. Kiba, Shikimaru, and Choji were sprawled along the railing beyond Naruto and seemed like they were enjoying the night.

Iruka smiled, a strong warmth blossoming in his chest and turned his gaze back to the stars, shining so brightly in the warm sunny night.

“Hey, Iruka-sensei what are you looking at?” Naruto demanded, squirming his way into Iruka’s arms.

“Just the stars Naruto.”

Naruto made a bored looking face. “Why? They’re not going anywhere, they’ll be there tomorrow night sensei.”

Iruka had to laugh at the truth, however simplistic it was. “That’s true. I suppose I’m not watching so much as saying hello.”

“Saying hello?” Naruto looked adorably confused. All of them did now.

“Yes, do you know what stars are?” Iruka asked.

“Exploding gases,” Sasuke answered immediately. 

Iruka laughed, “Yes, I suppose they’re that too. But that’s not what they really are.”

“That’s what our school books say they are!” Sakura sounded panicked and Iruka gave her a reassuring smile.

“What are they Iruka-sensei?” Naruto demanded.

“Look closely,” Iruka said and the students shuffled to get as close to the railing as they could. “Do you see all those stars, the ones that shine so brightly?” Naruto nodded, the tips of his hair brushing Iruka’s chin. “They are the souls of every shinobi that has given their life for the village. Every shinobi that died in the hospital from wounds. In distant lands so far from home. Or even in their beds of old age. Their souls ascended to join their fellow soldiers so they can be together for the rest of eternity. And now they are waiting together.”

“What are they waiting for Iruka-sensei?” Shikimaru actually sounded interested and Sasuke was leaning heavily against Iruka’s side.

“For you. For your brothers and sisters who believed you were worth fighting for and who loved you without ever knowing your name. They are always watching over you. And when your time comes, like it does for all of us eventually, there is an army waiting to welcome you home with open arms.”

Naruto’s eyes were wide, staring up at the stars enraptured. All of them were.

“Who told you that Iruka-sensei?” Shino asked quietly. 

Iruka smiled and hoped the darkness hid the sadness as he answered. “Someone who is already waiting for me up there.”

ooo000ooo

Sakura carefully peaked into Naruto’s room. The lights were off and the candle on the window was steadily burning down to nothing. Naruto and Sasuke were tangled together under the blankets; sound asleep in one another’s arms. She smiled when she realized they were at the wrong end of the bed, under the window Naruto loved to leave wide open no matter how many times they told him to be careful.

She wanted to creep into the room, blow out the candle and climb into bed with them, but something stopped her. Whatever the two of them had, whatever was developing between them Sakura didn’t want to get in the way. She’d already seen such a remarkable difference in the two from before the war. They were finally becoming happy without remorse or regrets.

She watch them sleep for a few minutes, her own sadness swallowed by her happiness for her teammates and she just barely jumped when a gentle hand landed on her shoulder. She turned to find Hinata standing behind her, a soft expression on her face. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Sakura shook her had. “It’s fine, I’m was just about to grab a blanket and go steal part of the couch.”

Hinata studied her friend for a moment and Sakura fidgeted under the unrelenting gaze of the Hyuga. “You know,” Hinata’s voice was soft. “They would never turn you away.”

Sakura froze. “I-.”

Hinata smiled, “But if it makes you that uncomfortable you’re more then welcome to join us.”

Hinata motioned to Iruka’s bedroom and through the cracked door Sakura could see Akamaru asleep hanging off the side of the bed and Kiba and Shino tangled together the same way Naruto and Sasuke were.

Sakura blushed as realization set in. “Oh.”

Hinata’s smile was warm and confident, despite the blush settled over her cheeks. “Yeah. I know how you feel. That’s how I know you won’t be turned away.”

Sakura frowned, glanced at Naruto and Sasuke and felt her face burn. She didn’t want to get in the way, but she wanted to be apart of the team. More then that, she wanted to be a part of her teammate’s lives. She wanted to stand by Sasuke as he faced the future and learned to celebrate his family. She wanted to be overwhelmed by Naruto’s happiness and willingness to trust. And she wanted to see both of them grow.

They wouldn’t turn her away, Hinata was right. They would always welcome her, just like she had welcomed them back. She didn’t have a tragic past like Sasuke’s or a future like Naruto’s, but she would be their rock. She smiled at Hinata. “I think I’ll be okay. Thanks for your help.”

Hinata smiled. “No problem.”

Sakura slipped into Naruto’s room, blew out the candle and carefully climbed onto Naruto’s bed. She snuggled up close, felt the heat the two radiated and fell asleep with a smile on her face.

Hinata watched happily, glad her friend was finally finding her place and her true value. She crept into the room silently, pulled the covers up around Team 7 to make sure they didn’t get cold and slipped back out, shutting the door behind her. Hinata checked on Kotetsu and Izumo in the living room before she returned to Iruka’s bedroom and climbed into bed. Kiba and Shino didn’t wake, but they shifted in their sleep to pull her into the tangle of limbs.

ooo000ooo


	7. Kowasareta memori

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iruka faces his choices and makes new ones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Life and all its joys got in the way for a little while, so I apologize on the long overdue update, but here it is and more will follow!
> 
> Again, I own nothing. I borrowed Taichou, fuku-taichou, shunpo and shunko from Bleach!

ooo000ooo

Chapter 6  
Kowasareta memori  
Memory that has been broken

Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work. You don’t give up. – Anne Lamott

ooo000ooo

: :Land of Iron: :

Kikyo’s eye hadn’t stopped twitching; her migraine was growing and her patience was thinning. Itachi and Shisui had given her judgmental looks while they dug Minato out of the rubble. Her blow had put him through the house and he’d taken out the support beams, causing the entire building to collapse on top of him. She hadn’t meant to hit him that hard but a flash of temper and instinct had flared and now the Yondaime was buried under his farmhouse. 

Itachi and Shisui had managed to shift just enough of the rubble to get to Namikaze. The blond man was unconscious, a gash above his eye had left part of his face covered in blood, but he was breathing. Itachi hauled the unconscious shinobi up and over his shoulder, while Shisui held the majority of the wreckage out of the way. They carried him out of what was left of the farmhouse and laid him gently on the soft grass.

“Superficial head wound,” Shisui explained as Itachi took his pulse. “He’s probably got a pretty bad bump though. Could be problems later if its not treated.”

They were both staring at her and Kikyo rolled her eyes. Itachi and Shisui were competent healers, the large chakra reserves of the Uchiha lent themselves well to healing jutsus. The Uchiha’s love of battle had lead to an almost obsessive interest in anything that would keep them on the battlefield longer, thus even the lowest level Uchiha was more skilled then most in healing jutsus. Itachi and Shisui were two of the strongest Uchiha in the clan’s history and Kikyo knew for a fact that both were more then capable of healing the Yondaime’s head wound, but they both also shared an overdeveloped sense of honor and responsibility and Kikyo was the one who’d hit him. “I’ll take care of it.”

“This is going to slow us down,” Itachi commented stated, eyes pinned on the horizon in the direction of Konoha.

They wanted to continue on, Kikyo could feel it. The same way she could still feel that distant tug, trying to pull her back to the place where all Uchiha belonged. It was more annoying then anything else at this point, but she knew Itachi and Shisui, who’d been forced away for so long, were itching with the need to return to the village. Relief that the battle with Kaguya and Black Zetsu was over combined with worry about what was happening in the village now made it impossible for the two to focus on anything else. Kikyo could sympathize; a very long time ago she’d felt the same. It seemed like no matter how hard they fought or how much work they put in, disasters just came one after another. The same pattern that had resulted in the annihilation of the Uchiha clan and that was enough to put all of them on edge. That same pattern of disaster after disaster could easily lead to the collapse of the entire Village Hidden in the Leaves and while Kikyo was furious with the direction the village was going, she’d stood the day it was founded and she wasn’t going to let it fall without a fight.

The most pressing issue of all of them, were the resurrections. Yondaime here and by Iruka’s reports at least two in the village. It took an immense amount of chakra and knowledge, not to mention, skill to resurrect the dead. Access to the necessary ingredients was almost impossible; especially in the cases of the Hyuuga, who almost religiously guarded their clan’s kekkei genkai. And yet someone had resurrected one of them. Yajirobi’s precious and troubled protégée was at the top of the list, but Itachi remained convinced he’d truly turned over a new leaf. Even Iruka seemed convinced. They were unrepentant idealists, but generally decent judges of character.

Which left what? Orochimaru and Danzo were both dead, unless someone decided to bring them back. But that still didn’t answer the question, who was behind the resurrections now? The idea that someone with that kind of power was allied with the Council was nightmare inducing. The fact that they’d slipped past Iruka’s notice worried Kikyo. Had they some how gotten access to the Uchiha library? The susanoo and Iruka’s wards made it impossible for anyone to enter the compound or the library. Fugaku had laid jutsu’s and traps that would level the entire village if anyone forced their way into the library. Since Kikyo had yet to see flames and billowing smoke filling the sky in the direction of the Village Hidden in Leaves, she was fairly certain the wards were still in place. There’d been a summoner a hundred years ago that had figured it out, but Kikyo had killed him and his scrolls were firmly buried deep in the Uchiha library.

Why bring back the Yondaime though? He’d been a forward thinker in his own time, a genius beyond compare and not someone easily hoodwinked. His morals and beliefs contradicted everything the Council wanted and he’d never been afraid to stand for what he believed in. Kikyo had every confidence that the Council would never be able to control him without a powerful mind-control jutsu and that would be impossible without Shisui’s Kotoamatsukami. They had no way to control Shisui himself.

Itachi and Shisui watched the dark haired kunoichi in silence. She looked worried, which was slightly out of character for the intimidating, overbearing figure of their childhoods; who’d woken them up at dawn everyday for drills and never let them go to sleep without running through their katas. She’d inspired some hellish nightmares until they’d grown old enough to appreciate what they’d learned. She looked pensive now, concerned, which was unexpected for someone of her breadth of experience and her level of skill. 

“We can’t leave him here,” Itachi pointed out. The Yondaime hadn’t stirred yet and carrying him, while possible, would be a pain that would slow them down and limit their ability to fight.

Kikyo nudged the unconscious blond with her foot, ignoring the disapproving looks from Itachi and Shisui. He didn’t move and Kikyo could feel the growing impatience radiating off the two. She knew what they wanted. To go home, to see their family. “Why don’t you two go ahead and I’ll wait for him to wake up.”

“Are you sure?” Shisui asked as the two started walking back to the road. “We could stay to help?”

Kikyo crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow at their speed. They were already on the road. “Don’t ask when you’re already walking away!” She yelled after them. All she got in response was a distracted wave from Itachi. She huffed and turned back to the unconscious Hokage. “Lot of help you are.”

ooo000ooo

: :Umino Iruka’s Apartment, Konohagakure: :

Kotetsu was slumped over a cup of coffee at Iruka’s tiny kitchen table, across from as a still half-asleep Anko. Izumo and Yajirobi were making breakfast when Iruka teleported in. Kotetsu’s head had snapped up so fast Iruka was actually worried about his neck before realizing that this was the worst place to appear. 

Kotetsu took one look at him and a dangerous gleam sparked in his eyes. 

Yajirobi and Izumo took one look at Iruka and the hickey barely concealed by his vest and went back to cooking, content to let Kotetsu and Anko dole out the humiliation as they saw fit.

“Teleportation of shame, eh Iruka?” Kotetsu’s grin was so wide it split his face in two. 

Iruka made one brief desperate glance at the doorway before deciding the effort wasn’t worth it. He hadn’t had coffee yet and he was exhausted and sore in places he hadn’t been sore in a very long time.

“I’m not admitting to anything,” Iruka stated, crossing his arms and immediately wincing as the muscles in his shoulders protested.

“Tea?” Izumo offered.

“Coffee,” Iruka pleaded. 

Anko practically bounced up to her friend and poked fearlessly at the half-covered hickey on his neck. “So who’s the biter?”

Iruka batted her hand away with as much of a glare as he could muster. “None of your business Anko.”

“Aww, come on Ruka,” Kotetsu’s voice dripped with honey, “Confide in your best friend. I promise not to tell.”

Yajirobi snorted as he started flipping pancakes. 

“Its no one,” Iruka shrugged as he took the cup of coffee Izumo handed him. “Thanks.”

“If it was no one you’d tell us who it was,” Izumo commented lightly, going back to the fish he was searing. 

Iruka frowned at him, betrayed. “Whose side are you on?”

Izumo grinned over his shoulder, unabashed and welcoming the chance for a normal conversation people their age were supposed to have, but that seemed to occur rarely in their close knit group.

“What happened to respecting the word of your Taichou?” Iruka complained as he downed half the coffee.

“We all resigned remember, there’s no Hanta anymore,” Kotetsu responded immediately, his voice tinted with sadness. 

Iruka paused, the pulse of hurt radiating in his chest at Kotetsu’s words. “There will always be Hanta. Even if we have resigned our positions and there is no one to carry on the traditions, the spirit remains.”

“The spirit’s not worth much without the body to carry out the action,” Yajirobi interjected quietly. 

“Well the spirits all that’s left so they’re going to have to make due,” Iruka snapped in a momentary flash of temper.

But they just looked at him with those sad, understanding faces he wanted to hate, but couldn’t. They knew him too well, loved him too much, to feel pity for him. But they all felt the loss, the missing piece of the call that would never come again. It burned quietly, an ember that never stopped glowing deep inside, but it had long since ceased to provide any warmth. Iruka could still remember what it felt like to have that warmth burn in his chest, to feel so fulfilled as the call swept through him and gave his life purpose. He loved teaching, loved helping his students learn and grow and watching them become adults, he would never choose another path, but the instinct to protect, the urge to let loose and run and fight with abandon, still ran through his veins sometimes.

“Do you think we’re not going to approve? Is that why you won’t tell us who it was?” Kotetsu asked, single mindedly bringing them back to the original conversation.

Iruka rolled his eyes.

“Iruka-kun,” Anko purred, “You’re starting to make me worry and you don’t like me when I worry. Remember what happened last time.”

Iruka did remember what had happened the last time Anko had been worried about him. She’d followed him around for days, never further then a few inches away, refusing to let anyone she thought might hurt him get close. Iruka could appreciate the thought, but he couldn’t stand the action. He loved Anko like a sister but he also loved his privacy at times and he knew she wasn’t above doing it all again just to weedle the information she wanted out of him. “You’ve been spending too much time with Ibiki,” Iruka told her ruefully. 

Anko’s grin had a lot of teeth, “He’s got his uses. And his talents.”

Yajirobi, Izumo and Kotetsu all made disgusted faces and Anko stuck her tongue out at them.

Iruka sighed, “It was Hatake.”

The kitchen fell silent as they stared at him in disbelief and Iruka steeled himself for the coming storm.

“Hatake as in Hatake Kakashi?” Anko repeated.

Iruka steeled himself and nodded. 

Kotetsu’s face turned dark. “Are you insane Iruka? You know how bad an idea that is, what the hell were you thinking?”

Anko and Isumo looked more upset about Kotetsu’s outburst then Iruka’s revelation. The spikey haired chunnin wasn’t temperamental, his laid back and relaxed personality was one of the reasons they all trusted him so much. He kept a cool head in pretty much any situation and was rarely, if ever, judgmental.

“It just happened,” Iruka snapped, “That doesn’t mean its going to happen again.”

“He was mooning over you for weeks Iruka, I doubt he’s going to accept a one off it was fun see you later!” Kotetsu pointed out angrily, “What happens if he starts sniffing around?”

“He won’t find anything Kotetsu, he doesn’t even know where to start looking.”

“But he suspects something doesn’t he?” Yajirobi broke in. Iruka and Kotetsu were best friends, had been since they’d first bonded over their shared fondness for pranks in the Academy, but Yajirobi and Iruka had a much deeper understanding of one another. In their training for Hanta it had been Yajirobi who’d acted as Iruka’s shadow and double. His almost instinctive understanding of Iruka’s thought process and decision-making had allowed them to fight together without a sound. Their bond was born out of their shared experience of betrayal and survival as children and it had only grown stronger over years of fighting together. He remained one of the few people whose judgment Iruka trusted without question and he was also one of the few Iruka knew that never pulled his punches.

“How did this happen?” Izumo asked, trying to restore the calm.

Iruka hesitated to respond, the fact that Kakashi had attacked him in an effort to test his strength after watching him fight Neji and Asuma spoke for itself. He should have said it wouldn’t happen again, but Iruka tried not to lie to his friends when it wasn’t absolutely necessary. And he really wanted to sleep with Kakashi again.

“Pretty into him huh?” Kotetsu guessed, the anger leeching out of his voice at Iruka’s hesitation to answer.

Iruka shrugged a little bit helplessly. 

“Couldn’t you just have decided to have a serious thing for some random mist nin or something easier to deal with,” Kotetsu muttered.

“I never said it was serious,” Iruka returned.

Kotetsu gave him a look that spoke volumes. “Iruka, you’ve never had a problem telling us who you’ve been sleeping with before and the guy’s been driving you up the wall for months, which is exactly what you tend to go for.”

“Hey! I do not go for people who make me angry!” Iruka protested loudly, face flushing.

They stared at him in silence and Iruka relented. “Fine, maybe I do, but that’s not important.” 

Izumo actually looked a little bit fond as he rolled his eyes. “It’s alright Iruka, pretty sure you get it from your dad anyway.”

“You get a lot from your dad,” Kotetsu muttered, annoyed.

“Hey if Iruka wants to bang Kakashi he can bang Kakashi!” Anko broke in angrily, hugging Iruka tightly at the same time. Iruka wheezed slightly as he tired to breath in her grip.

Yajirobi smirked as Iruka started to turn red. “It’s fine, let it run its course, we can deal with him when its over. Maybe we won’t even have to.”

“We won’t need to deal with him,” Iruka responded breathlessly, “He doesn’t know anything. Anko I can’t breathe!” 

Kotetsu pried Anko off him and Iruka took several gasping breaths. 

“We can handle Kakashi if anything does happen, he wouldn’t be able to take all of us,” Anko declared going limp in Kotetsu grip in revenge and dragging them both to the floor.

“Let’s not assume we’re going to have to kill Kakashi just because he and Iruka don’t work out,” Izumo chided, sighing at the way the rest of his comrades skipped order escalation and went straight to killing. “We’re Hanta, whether we resigned or not. We’re supposed to protect our fellow shinobi, not kill them whenever they hurt us or make us angry.”

Anko looked disappoint from where she wrestling around on the kitchen floor with Kotetsu. Iruka looked relived, which meant they needed to have a whole different conversation about how deep his feelings for the last Hatake actually ran. Yajirobi looked indifferent, as always, and Kotetsu was too busy loosing the wrestling match to Anko to care.

“What’s a Hanta?” Naruto’s sleep heavy voice silenced the kitchen. He stood in the entryway, wearing a pair of Iruka’s old pajamas that were still a size to big for the barely legal teenager. He looked like he was still asleep. Sasuke, standing next to him, did not.

Fugaku’s youngest son bore a striking resemblance to his mother in that moment. Dark eyes narrowed and searching as he scanned the room. It had surprised them all how much he’d taken after his father, despite inheriting his mother’s looks. Just like Itachi he’d taken on the inherently kind personality, but where in Itachi it had been balanced by the blood line’s ruthlessness; Sasuke, despite everything he had done, had yet to develop what had allowed his brother to wipe out their clan and remain sane.

Iruka had always been relived about that, had hoped that that might be what would prevent Sasuke’s fall into the Curse of Hatred. It hadn’t, but it had helped Sasuke pull himself back out and Iruka doubted he would fall again. Especially if Naruto had any say in it. 

Sakura wandered in then, Ino hot on her heels. Iruka could here the others waking. The bathroom door slamming because Kiba took a while to wake up completely; murmurs of morning greetings and stubbed toes. By the time Iruka had made a decision on whether or not to answer Naruto’s question they were all in the kitchen, staring bleary eyed at Kotetsu and Anko on the floor, Izumo and Yajirobi at the stove and Iruka looking like a thief caught in the act. They’d discussed whether or not to tell Naruto and his friends before. Iruka had wanted to wait a little longer, a last ditch effort to keep them out of it in the shallow hope that everything would just fade away. He still had an irrational hope that the two old bastards on the Konoha Council would just keel over and die of old age. Or a severe, painful, incurable disease.

Sakura frowned, “What’s going on?” 

Iruka sighed. Telling them had always been inevitable no matter what he’d hoped. Iruka refused to break away enough to keep them completely out of the matter and it was far too late to change his mind now.

“What are the Hanta?” Sasuke demanded. The others were starting to look interested or at least somewhat awake in Naruto and Kiba’s cases. 

Iruka glanced at the others, meeting their gazes. They’d talked about this before and they were all in agreement on what to do but Iruka still wanted to double-check. One by one they nodded and Iruka took a deep breath. He’d never had to explain the Hanta to someone who wasn’t already aware of them and despite spending his entire life contemplating what it meant; he found he had no idea what to say.

He rubbed his forehead and considered his words carefully. “The Hanta are the Hunter-nin of Konohagakure.”

“Like Mists?” Sakura asked warily.

“Not at all,” Iruka said quickly. “Our jobs is, was, to protect our fellow shinobi. We weren’t like ANBU or the Konoha Military Police. We were sent in when a ninja needed to be rescued or there was an internal threat that needed to be dealt with.”

“That sounds cool,” Tenten commented.

Lee nodded vigorously. “That is a very honorable profession, Iruka-sensei! These Hanta are truly great shinobi!” Shikimaru and TenTen had to duck Lee’s arms as they waved enthusiastically along with his speech. Iruka’s eyes slid to Kotetsu and Anko still wrestling on the floor.

“Yes, they are.” Iruka agreed, kicking Anko and Kotetsu to get them to stop. He could feel the amusement radiating off Izumo and Yajirobi.

“You said ‘was’ before.” Shino commented quietly.

“Oh, ah, right. You see, we’re the remaining members of the Hanta, along with several others,” Iruka gestured to himself, Kotetsu, Anko, Izumo, and Yajirobi. “After the Uchiha Clan Massacre, their enemies in Konohagakure’s government began targeting us. With most of our allies gone and peace holding on we decided to resign our positions, rather then risk another war.”

“What’s the real reason you left Iruka-sensei?” The others had looked like they were about to accept Iruka’s explanation, but Naruto had seen through it. The years he’d spent observing the young sensei, practicing his newly acquired shinobi skills on the temperamental teacher had given him insight he hadn’t realized he’d had until recently.

Iruka’s eyes gave him away, flecks of gold in chocolate brown that glowed or dimmed depending on his mood. They’d dimmed considerably when he’d spoken of leaving the Hanta. A sad look crossed Iruka’s face and Naruto instantly felt guilty for putting it there, but he knew Iruka was holding back something. His most precious person didn’t give up just because he lost some allies and there was peace. Shinobi never rested. If there wasn’t a war going on, they were working to prevent the next one. Iruka would never have left without being forced and Naruto wanted the truth from the one person that had always given it to him. 

“Our families were gone. Betrayed by the village and we didn’t see a reason to continue protecting the people that killed them.” And by we Iruka mostly meant himself. He’d been the first to decide to resign, the others had understood and chosen to follow him rather then risk getting pulled into ANBU or Root. Iruka loved them for it but he still felt a little bit guilty. 

“All your families?” Hinata whispered.

Iruka nodded.

“Who betrayed them? Why would they do that?” Naruto demanded angrily. 

Kotetsu and Anko finally pulled themselves to their feet, brushing off their clothes.

“Izumo, Yajirobi and I are all orphans,” Kotetsu explained. “We were raised, like Iruka, by allies of the Uchiha and members of the Konoha Military Police. When the Konoha Council and Danzo forced Itachi to assassinate the Uchiha Clan our families were also killed.”

“Wait, Danzo and the council did what?” Ino sounded horrified.

“Are you serious, the Konoha Council had Itachi killed his clan?” Shikimaru repeated and Iruka could see the wheels turning in his head. “That means Itachi wasn’t actually evil and the stories about the Uchiha Clan…”

“Some of them are true,” Iruka admitted, “Most are exaggerated.”

“The attempt to assassinate the Sandaime?” Shikimaru asked.

“There was one but the Clan dealt with it internally, just not fast enough to stop the Council and Danzo from acting. Fugaku hesitated because he didn’t want to kill his own clansmen and make the Curse of Hatred even stronger.”

“If the Council and Danzo managed to order the assassination of the Uchiha, why use Itachi to do it? Why not just order ANBU to carry out the attack and not have the risk of Itachi surviving? He was strong, probably strong enough to kill them if he wanted to.”

“Itachi was more then strong enough to kill the Council and Danzo,” Iruka agreed.

“So why didn’t he?” Ino looked confused.

“Because they had the moral high ground,” Shikimaru responded, eyes pinned on Iruka. “With all the stories about the Uchiha, even if Itachi had killed them in self defense the clan would have been through. The Elders, the other Clans, ANBU, someone would have taken action with or without the Hoakge’s permission. Not even Sandaime would have been able to save them. Itachi’s a genius and the Uchiha were the strongest clan in the village, but they must have realized that they didn’t have any allies left who could have helped them. Or their allies themselves were under attack and unable to fend off their own attackers, let along come to the aid of the Uchiha.”

Shikimaru stopped, suddenly doubting himself. The rest of the Rookie Eleven were hanging on his every word. 

“Keep going,” Iruka instructed. Shikimaru’s genius, so long overlooked because of his laziness, was probably on par with Fugaku’s when it came to strategy and tactics. It was an odd reminder of the man who’d shaped Iruka in so many ways, whom he saw glimpses of in Itachi and whose heart beat Iruka could still feel deep inside the Uchiha compound. 

“Sandaime must have known what was going on though. Danzo left, or was removed from the Council the day after the attack. I remember my father talking about it. He didn’t like Danzo, mentioned something about it being less then what he deserved and he told me not to ask about what happened. Said he would explain when I was older but he never got the chance.” Shikimaru’s voice turned sad at the memory of his father. He was still struggling with that loss and the loss and now return of Asuma, who’d been a powerful father figure for him.

“Sandaime removed Danzo from the Council,” Shino added.

Iruka nodded. “Stripped him of all his power.”

“Why didn’t he do it to the Council too?” Kiba demanded.

“Not enough evidence right?” Shikimaru guessed and Iruka nodded again.

“Why were the Hanta allies of the Uchiha? If they’re supposed to protect the shinobi of the village, shouldn’t they be allies with everyone?” Naruto asked.

“They were allies of everyone, I promise, even if it didn’t seem like it sometimes.” Iruka paused. “The Hanta were founded during Tobirama’s time as Hokage, but the actual story starts long before that. Even before the founding of the village.”

They stared at him wide eyed and Iruka tried to tell the story the way he’d heard it as a child, when he would sit enthralled for hours at Fugaku’s or Tsume’s feet as they told stories of times long past.

“Like the Senju the Uchiha were a mercenary clan before the founding of the village. Unlike the Senju their actual beginning was much more volatile. They were descended from Indra, the elder son of Hagoromo. His children followed their father’s path, splitting and walking their roads alone. One of them, Indra’s only daughter, was the first to fall victim to the Curse of Hatred and disappeared into the great mountains far to the north. She would not return for over two hundred years. The story goes that Indra’s bloodline almost died out completely during a horrible war with a rival clan. The Uchiha managed to win the final battle, wiping out the other clan in the process and Indra’s daughter was so impressed she left her solitude to rejoin the clan. They called her the Great Sage of the Mountain, the God who came down from the heaves to teach the Uchiha to fight. During the time of Tobirama she and another member of the Uchiha clan founded the Hanta.”

“Which one?” Sasuke demanded.

“Kagami.”

“Uchiha Kagami helped found the Hanta!” Ino gasped. “Wasn’t he one of the strongest Uchiha ever?!”

“He was one of the Second Hokage’s direct subordinates!” Sakura sounded excited. “He was there the night Sarutobi Hiruzen was chosen as Third Hokage!”

“Yes, he was one of Tobirama’s most trusted shinobi.”

“Neither Indra’s daughter nor Kagami liked that the shinobi of the village were depended on for its defense but there was no one to defend them. Back then the village was so focused on growing and building a strong foundation that they rarely had the shinobi to spare for rescue missions. Ninja were expected to make it out alive or die to ensure the enemy didn’t capture them. She decided to found the Hanta as a way to protect the shinobi of the village. The Hanta wouldn’t be used as an actual unit in war. They wouldn’t fight in pitched battles. They were meant solely to rescue captured or endangered shinobi. To save lives and ensure that the ninja that sacrificed for the village were protected while they did their duty. The Hanta were meant to be the ones who endured the eternal chase.”

Iruka couldn’t help but smile, feeling lightened at the looks of awe on their faces. Lee practically had hearts in his eyes.

“Iruka-sense! What a noble calling! To protect your fellow shinobi, how honorable! Where are these Hanta? May I join?” Lee’s arms were pin wheeling again, but no one seemed to mind at the moment.

Iruka starred at him, surprised. Now that he thought about it, it made sense. Lee’s beliefs and dedication were the perfect fit for Hanta. The same reason Dai had been chosen and Gai had been considered before his father’s death. Iruka still wanted to recruit Gai despite the fact that he was technically retired. Recently though, Iruka had noticed something going on with Konoha’s Green Beast. He hadn’t come back from the battle at the Valley of the End in one piece and Iruka wasn’t sure what was missing.

“I’m sure an elite unit like that has some qualifications or tests to join, you can’t just volunteer Lee,” Tenten said gently. “You probably have to be a jounin or have served in ANBU?” She looked to Iruka for confirmation.

Iruka rubbed at his scar awkwardly, a flush rising. The others didn’t look any better. Kotetsu was looking pointedly at the ceiling; Anko’s eye was twitching. Yajirobi and Izumo were both very busy cooking. 

“Well,” Iruka started and trailed off. “You would think so and there probably should be…”

“Are you serious, all you have to do is volunteer?” Kiba squawked. 

Iruka nodded. “Yes, but the Taichou can, of course, decide to say no. It’s always been more about the spirit and the will then anything else.”

“I volunteer!” Lee roared immediately, making everyone else in the room jump from the force of his voice.

“Damn!” Kotetsu winced at the volume. Izumo yelped when he accidently burned his hand in surprise. Yajirobi actually looked impressed as he glanced over his shoulder at them. Flames were practically leaping off Lee’s body and it wasn’t just the Green Beast in training. Naruto was practically dancing in place and Kiba was actually dancing. Sasuke, Shikimaru, and Shino were smiling; the widest Iruka had seen since they’d hit puberty and stopped being amused by the simplest things. Ino and Choji high-fived and Hinata still looked awed. Tenten and Sakura had a certain look of victory that Iruka usually saw when they realized they knew something no one else did. Inner Sakura was probably doing cartwheels.

It was the first time since his resignation that Iruka really, truly wished he’d made a different choice and the Hanta were still active. But he hadn’t so he sighed and scratched the back of his head. “The Hanta are no longer active.”

“Why not?” Naruto demanded.

Iruka shifted as the sadness settled over him. How did he explain that he’d lost faith? Those dark years following the Uchiha Massacre hadn’t been pretty. Iruka had been angry and so, so lost and alone. Itachi had been god knows where, effectively banished from Konoha and Sasuke’s memories had been sealed. The rest of the Hanta hadn’t been in any better shape and none of them had had any sympathy to share for the village. It hadn’t been a good time for anyone.

“After the Uchiha massacre there weren’t many of us left and things in the village were difficult. Our enemies overwhelmed us and we decided that the best course of action was to step back and live to fight another day.”

“Today, right?” Naruto asked, eyes wide. He already sounded convinced as he asked the question.

Iruka smiled softly, sadly. “Soon, maybe. But until then you can’t tell anyone about us.”

“Why are the Hanta a secret?” Sakura asked. 

“Why is ANBU?” Iruka returned and she flushed.

“The Hanta’s enemies are still in play,” Shikimaru stated, interrupting Iruka.

Iruka nodded. That was the main reason but there were a dozen other, small ones whose importance varied on the Hanta member you asked. 

“It’s the Council isn’t it?” Sasuke guessed, voice filled with anger. “They were Danzo’s allies and they wiped out my family and they’re still walking around like they run the village! They have to be held accountable!” Sasuke sounded like he was ready to go make them pay that very second and Iruka worried briefly that he actually might. Naruto and Sakura apparently shared Iruka’s concern; they each grabbed one of Sasuke’s hands and squeezed tightly.

“They will,” Iruka put what he hoped was a comforting hand on Sasuke’s shoulder. “Eventually all the debts that are owed will be paid, but you have to be patient. Rushing in will only get more people hurt and the goal is, and always has been, to protect the village.”

Sasuke didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t try to leave. The self-control was impressive; Iruka hadn’t had any at Sasuke’s age. 

“Tell you what,” Iruka’s voice was full of pride, “How about this, we’ll start teaching you guys some of the Hanta practices and jutsus, but you guys have to keep it a secret. No one knows that Naruto and Sasuke are back and its best to keep it that way for now.”

The Rookie Eleven nodded in unison, though Sasuke still looked angry. 

“Are you going to take on the Council?” Naruto asked. His focus was intense, Iruka could remember seeing hints of it when he was younger. His determination to become stronger, to beat Sasuke and to become Hokage. It was maturing now, as the lessons of life sank in and Naruto was truly beginning to learn what looking underneath the underneath meant. And how people were rarely what you first thought they were.

Iruka could feel Kotetsu’s eyes burning holes into the back of his head, the former fuku-taichou of the Hanta was vehemently opposed to involving anyone else in the situation, especially those that were still basically children. They were going to destroy the Council, eventually, but there was no need to involve Naruto and the others yet. Maybe there would never be a need. “When its time, I’ll tell you. For now, there’s a hidden training ground inside the Uchiha compound. Get ready and meet me there in ten minutes. Don’t let anyone see you.”

Iruka teleported away before any of them could say anything and more importantly before Kotetsu could ask him what the hell he was thinking. It turned out that he hadn’t outgrown his impulsive nature as much as he’d thought.

ooo000ooo

: :Training Grounds, Uchiha Compound: :

To their credit it took the Rookie Eleven just under nine minutes to get into the Uchiha Compound and locate the training grounds. Naruto and Kiba were both sporting minor burns from where they’d tried to run through the wards before Sasuke could change them. No one had seen them though and Iruka was torn between being relieved that they hadn’t been caught and concerned about the level of security in the village since Naruto, Kiba, Choji and Ino still weren’t any good at camouflage jutsus. 

They stumbled into the training area with more energy then they’d displayed since the night they’d showed up at Iruka’s door demanding to see Naruto and Sasuke.

“Alright, pay attention. Today’s just going to be a quick lesson since its last minute.” Eleven pairs of eyes pinned Iruka to the spot, just like they had all those years ago when he’d first begun teaching them the shinobi arts. “Today I’m going to teach you shunpo. The flash step. If you master it, truly master it, you’ll be able to move faster then the human eye can see. So fast that you’ll leave an after image behind that your opponent can actually feel themselves strike before it disappears.”

“Whoa,” Naruto eyes were wide as saucers.

“Its actually a pretty basic jutsu. It involves pushing chakra to your feet and using it to propel you in which ever direction you want to go.”

“Like using chakra to walk up trees or on water?” Sakura asked, hand-raised. 

“A bit, but shunpo is actually much more powerful and requires much less chakra.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Kiba pointed out.

Iruka smiled. “It will when you figure it out. For walking up things or on water you need a enough chakra to hold up your weight. In shunpo all it does is give you the initial push and your weight actually becomes part of the force moving you, carrying you in the direction of the initial push until you stop yourself. A single shunpo step can launch you a hundred feet using a minimal amount of chakra.”

“But Iruka-sensei, what if you cannot stop yourself?” Lee asked.

“Well you’ll stop eventually in every case, unfortunately it’s pretty likely that you’ll stop because you hit something. Stopping is the hardest thing to learn in shunpo. It takes an immense amount of control.” Something every student, no matter how smart, learned the hard way.

“If shunpo is a targeted boost of speed from your chakra does that mean you can use it in other ways?” Ino looked thoughtful.

“You can use shunpo on any part of your body, though I’m going to tell you right now if I catch any of you hitting anyone with shunpo outside of a life or death situation I’ll make sure you never do anything above a D ranked mission again.” Iruka’s teacher-of-death voice came out and they cowered as they always had.

“The best way to stop shunpo is to use shunpo. A targeted blast of chakra, the opposite of what you started with. If you use to much chakra or too little it won’t work.”

“That sounds really complicated,” Naruto muttered.

“Think of riding a bike down a hill. If you hit the brakes too hard you go flying over the bike. If you don’t hit them hard enough you’ll just slip and slide. You have to hit them just right to stop without hurting yourself.”

“That…makes sense I guess? But I don’t know how to ride a bike,” Naruto pointed out. Sakura groaned.

“Dobe,” Sasuke sighed.

Iruka paused and felt a little bit guilty that he’d never taught Naruto to ride a bike. “It’s the principle that matters. Equal and opposite reactions. Shunpo is the second Hanta jutsu.”

“What’s the first?” Shikimaru asked.

Iruka smirked, “The first Hanta jutsu is Shunko and it’s the last you’ll learn.”

“Why?” Hinata’s voice was soft.

“Shunko takes a level of skill and control that most shinobi never achieve in their lifetime. The other Hanta jutsus will help you get to the level you need to be at to learn Shunko.”

“So what’s shunko?” Naruto’s eyes were bright, that same obsessive gleam he’d shown attempting to learn kage bushin and every other thing people had told him he couldn’t learn.

“Not until you’re ready,” Iruka said pointedly. Naruto’s shoulders fell. “Now, spread out and concentrate on sending a small pulse of chakra to your feet to push you forward.”

Naruto, of course, went flying head first into Iruka’s stomach on his first attempt. It had been awhile since the blond had head-butted or landed on him in training and it actually took the wind out of Iruka for a moment.

Sasuke had to grab a training pole to stop himself from running into another one and landed flat on his back. 

Hinata and Kiba ended up running into one another and Shino tripped over a pebble he hadn’t noticed. 

Sakura had trouble starting her first step, too worried about loosing control. 

Ino got started, then panicked and grabbed Shikimaru and Choji and took them down with her. 

TenTen grabbed Lee to steady herself, but the Green Beast in training didn’t notice before he took off and they both went flying.

Iruka had a hard time containing his amusement, but his laughter just served to spur them on.

ooo000ooo

: :Umino Iruka’s Apartment, Konohagakure: :

Kotetsu sighed in annoyance as Iruka disappeared in a cloud of smoke and leaves before any of them could stop him and the kids frantically followed. “Damn it, what the hell is he thinking, training them now?”

“Calm down, Iruka knows what he’s doing,” Anko’s faith in Iruka was unshakable. It had been since he’d let her rebuild her life on his couch when she’d first returned to Konoha after Orochimaru had taken her. ANBU had kept her under surveillance for almost two and half years and no one had trusted her until Sandaime had stepped in; but Iruka had been her staunch defender from the moment he’d seen her stumble through the gate half-dead and barely conscious. 

Yajirobi stuck a plate of food in front of Anko’s face, immediately distracting her. “Iruka has his reasons, you know he’s wanted to bring them in and train them for years.”

“Pretty much since they ended up in his class,” Anko spoke around her food and Izumo made a face at her. She stuck her tongue out at him in retaliation when he threw a napkin at her.

Yajirobi started dishing up the rest of the food. “Iruka won’t put them at risk.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about. I’m worried about Iruka putting himself at risk. He’s in a bad enough position as it is and this shit with Kakashi and the kids isn’t going to help,” Kotetsu didn’t want his friend to suffer any more, he’d seen enough of it in their childhood. Iruka deserved a happy, peaceful life at some point.

“This shit with Kakashi makes Iruka happy,” Yajirobi said quietly, “So does training the kids. You know he misses his family. We all miss them but it’s different for Iruka. The blood ties of the Uchiha never fade, not even in death. There’s just a bunch of emptiness that never leaves. Its why they fall to the Curse of Hatred.”

“Iruka’s not going to fall,” Anko snapped, defensive.

“Iruka fell a long time ago,” Yajirobi countered, “Those kids are the main reason he never went mad and left. Things are only going to get worse from here, let him have the kids and Kakashi. He’s going to need them.”

Kotetsu screwed up in his face in a wince. Izumo’s eyes narrowed as Kotetsu’s sleeve shifted. “Kakashi’s just going to hurt him.”

“Kakashi doesn’t have a fucking clue,” Izumo muttered, “If anyone’s going to get hurt it’ll be him.” The bump in Kotetsu’s sleeve shift over his shoulder and around his back. Yajirobi’s eyes narrowed when he saw it shift.

“Oh yeah, because a pissed off and emotionally injured Hatake is going to be a bundle of joy to deal with,” Kotetsu’s voice was full of sarcasm. “Everyone’ll side with him against Iruka.”

“I don’t know, Hatake’s got a lot of pride and he’s paranoid and private as fuck. I’d bet good dango he won’t tell anyone,” Anko put in, shoving food into her mouth between words.

“How does Ibiki sleep with you?” Izumo muttered, watching her in a horrified fashion. Anko grinned with her teeth.

“What if he takes the story about his dad seriously and commits suicide?” Yajirobi didn’t actually think Hatake would ever kill himself, but it was funny to watch Kotetsu pale as he considered it.

“Jesus fuck, I didn’t even think about that,” Kotetsu was actually worried about Kakashi at that thought.

Izumo and Anko both rolled their eyes. “Hatake would never commit suicide, especially over a break up.” Anko assured her teacher. 

Izumo glared at Yajirobi who hide his smirk by turning and beginning to clean up the kitchen. The bump under Kotetsu shirt crawled up his chest.

Anko pointed at it with her chopsticks. “Is that?” A small furry head poked out of Kotetsu shirt before she could finish and the squirrel clawed its way onto Kotetsu’s shoulder. 

Izumo sighed. “Iruka will permanently damage you if he finds out you sic’d your squirrels on Kakashi.”

Kotetsu scratched the squirrel’s chin and it chittered happily. “What Iruka doesn’t know won’t hurt, will it precious,” he cooed at the squirrel.

“No but it’ll hurt you,” Izumo muttered.

“Doesn’t Kakashi have dogs?” Anko whispered. Kotetsu cackled. 

ooo000ooo

Well?


	8. Fukamatte iru kage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The search for Naruto and Sasuke is stalled and the Council corners Iruka, while the Rookie 11 work to master their first Hanta jutsu.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I own nothing! I have borrowed fighting styles and characters from Bleach and Shadow Skill. 
> 
> As always, comments and constructive criticisms are welcome!
> 
> I still don't have a beta so please bear with me!

ooo000ooo

Chapter 7  
Fukamatte iru kage  
Shadow that has deepened

Between the idea and the reality,  
Between the motion and the act,  
Falls the shadow.  
-T.S. Elliot (The Hallow Men)

ooo000ooo

: :ANBU Briefing Room, ANBU Headquarters, Konohagakure: :

Kakashi scanned the room with his visible eye. Ibiki’s team was due back from the Valley of the End today and Kakashi was eager to hear their report and he wasn’t the only one. Kurenai had beaten him here. Gai was with her and Kakashi still hadn’t managed to pin down Konoha’s Green Beast and find out what was wrong with him. Genma and Raido had shown up shortly after, still showing the bruises earned during their last mission. Yamato and Sai were present, taking up the wall on either side of Kakashi and eager to hear any possible news about Naruto and Sasuke.

Everyone wanted to hear news about the two young shinobi. Every ninja that had born witness to the final battle with Kaguya and Black Zetsu knew the battle would have been lost without them. Stories of the battle they’d begun following the fight with Kaguya had taken on epic proportions in the village. Kakashi just wanted his students back in one piece so he could make an attempt at apologizing for his failures and to celebrate the shinobi they’d become. He hadn’t seen Sakura much lately, he’d learned from Tsunade that the young kunoichi had begun pulling away from the Hokage and Shizune and almost everyone else outside the Rookie Eleven. Kakashi didn’t blame her, he hadn’t exactly dealt with the loss of his own genin team well, but he was disappointed that she hadn’t come to him. 

He’d seen her talking to Iruka in Ichiraku’s a few days ago. He couldn’t blame her for feeling more comfortable with the Academy sensei then with Kakashi himself. He’d paid more attention to Sasuke and Naruto during his time as their sensei, distracted by their histories and the events that had followed. He suspected that was one of the reasons she’d turned so quickly to Tsunade when the opportunity arose. Kakashi figured he owed her a pretty big apology. Maybe he’d ask Iruka what he thought about it. The sensei had been gone when Kakashi had woken up that morning, nothing but the wards rustling in the morning wind as a sign of his hasty exit. Kakashi hadn’t even stirred until he was completely clear of the apartment. Kakashi had been impressed with his skill, something that kept happening with an alarming regularity when it came to Iruka. The academy sensei was turning out to be so much more then he’d been expecting, thinking about him was starting to take up the majority of Kakashi’s time and he last time he’d been so focused on a single thing he’d created his famed chidori technique. 

It was odd, that it had ended up being Iruka who earned Kakashi’s focus. He’d had a handful of lovers over the years, even a few that had lasted more then a week or two in duration. But none of them had been as fascinating as Iruka, A simple chuunin academy teacher who was skilled enough in taijutsu to take down a Hyuuga genius and to last against Kakashi. Who was always perfectly respectful when he was telling off his superiors and whose temper was twice as strong as his chakra.

Why was Iruka the one who’d caught Kakashi’s attention? He was nothing like Rin, in fact, if he thought hard enough about it, Iruka had quite a few things in common with Obito. Before the rock slide of course. The same loud personality and the determination and the fearlessness that Kakashi had looked down in his childhood teammate until it was too late. Maybe that was why he was so drawn to Iruka, the memory of Obito that hung over him and the hope that existed in Naruto. The boy was an odd amalgamy of the two men currently occupying Kakashi’s thoughts.

Ibiki entered the room then. Flanked by two ANBU who, judging by their slumped postures, were exhausted. They were empty handed. That didn’t bode well. The whispers ceased as the room fell silent. 

Taka, the current head of ANBU appeared, but stayed off to the side, flanked by his bodyguards. The highest ranked ANBU tended to stay hands off and allowed his subordinate commanders run their divisions and missions with little interference. The man was still a complete enigma to most of Konohagakure’s ninja. No one knew his identity or even his age and no one had ever seen his face. Kakashi would have guessed they were around the same age, but he’d since learned that Taka had been the head of ANBU since it’s founding in Tobirama’s time as Hokage. Every time Kakashi thought he knew something, something always happened to prove otherwise. 

It was a long running bet among ANBU and its former members and so far no one had been able to conclusively prove any fact about Taka. They couldn’t even prove that it wasn’t the same person who’d been the head since it’s founding. Given ANBU’s purpose and role, having someone in Taka’s role wasn’t absolutely necessary. The Hokage still gave orders personally for missions, but Taka acted as a kind of organizer and tasker, as well as an advisor to the Hokage and every shinobi in ANBU held him in high respect. Kakashi, like all the others, had a powerful desire to see him fight, but wasn’t expecting to get lucky any time soon.

Ibiki didn’t beat around the bush. “There’s no sign of them in the Valley of the End.”

Murmurs of disbelief rose. 

“What about tracks or a trail?” Kakashi demanded. Ibiki had refused to allow him to join the team travelling to the Valley, citing Kakashi’s close relationship with the boys and his inability to remain unbiased. Kakashi could understand the logic, but couldn’t stop the thought that the outcome might have been different if he’d been there to help search.

Ibiki shook his head, “There’s nothing Hatake. It doesn’t look like anyone’s been there for weeks.”

Kakashi could feel the anger build, almost completely overwhelming the dark pit of dread slowly growing larger in his chest. Where the hell were Naruto and Sasuke? The longer they stayed gone the harder it would be for them to come back. Sasuke was already in danger of being named a missing nin again and Kakashi knew that despite Naruto’s heroics in saving the village, there were still those who wanted him gone permanently and would use any excuse to make it happen.

“Have any sources reported sightings?” Sai asked. His relationship with Team 7 was difficult and Kakashi worried that the attachment was stronger for Sai then the other three. Sai needed a family and he wanted it to be Team 7, but Team 7 was currently shattered and it showed. Sai was slowly reverting to the personality he’d had before he’d met Team 7 and Yamato had already expressed his own concerns to Kakashi. Their investigation into the possibility that Root ANBU was still operating had brought back nightmares for all three of them and the frustrations stemming from their failure to find anything were feeding into everything else. The war against Kaguya and Black Zetsu was finished, but the battle for Konohagakure was far from over. 

ooo000ooo

: :Hyuuga Compound, Konohagakure: :

Neji and Asuma had been confined to the Hyuuga Compound until their tests had cleared. A messenger had come to Hiashi’s personal office only moments earlier to tell him that the Hokage had cleared both shinobi to return to duty. It hadn’t even taken forty-eight hours for Tsunade to make her decision and while Hiashi was surprised at the speed, he wasn’t surprised at all by the outcome. Tsunade trusted her instincts and her shinobi beyond all else. What the Konoha Counsel called impulsive and emotional Hiashi was coming to see as true leadership and a mentoring that diverged from Sandaime’s methods of more focused teaching. It would be interesting to see where the village would go under her leadership now that the war was over.

The Hyuuga Clan hadn’t changed much, despite the massive change the village had and was still under going. As Hiashi walked through the compound the cherry blossoms were lush and danced in the light breeze. Members of the clan went about their business, training and tending to the grounds almost as if the outside world didn’t exist. It was a mindset Hiashi had once fully embraced, but had begun to question in recent weeks. Hanabi, now heir to the clan, was fully immersed in her training and ecstatic to have Neji back. The bond the two shared was far stronger then the bond Hanabi and her older sister shared. Though Hinata had always doted on her, her weakness had made it hard for Hanabi to look up to her sister. Hiashi knew he bore some of the blame for their failed relationship, he’d failed as a father to guide both girls and while he was making up for that lost time now with Hanabi, he couldn’t quite seem to do the same with Hinata. His oldest daughter was rarely at the compound these days; it was almost as if she’d been sucked out of the clan by the world outside and had never looked back.

Hiashi saw her randomly in the village, most frequently with her team or the other members of the Rookie 11. A brief run in with Tsume at the Hokage Tower had confirmed that she spent most nights at the Inuzuka or Aburame Compound. Tsume hadn’t been too willing to talk about it. She disagreed with almost every decision Hiashi had ever made, though he’d never seen her as angry as when he had removed Hinata as the heir to the clan and replaced her with Hanabi. Hiashi stood by his decision and remained confident that Hinata would eventually return. He was more concerned with any influence Tsume would exert while Hiashi wasn’t there to mitigate it.

Neji’s return had taken up most of his time the last few days and Hiashi was angry that Hinata had not even come by to see her cousin. He assumed that would be rectified soon enough, especially with Neji’s release. He’d expected to see Neji’s genin team as well but they had also remained surprisingly absent. Hiashi knew there had been rocky points in their relationship but Neji had seemed close with Tenten, Lee and Hinata in the days before his death. The complicated workings of young relationships hadn’t interested Hiashi when he was their age and they still didn’t now, but it did worry him on occasion. Not all the members of the Rookie 11 were a good influence according to the Hyuuga Elders and Hiashi had a hard time making arguments for them in certain cases. The Elders had quieted down recently, the actions of the Rookie 11 during the war spoke for themselves, but Hiashi knew it wouldn’t’ stay that way for long.

Hiashi turned a corner, neatly sidestepping a maid with her arms full of laundry. The rooms Neji and Asuma had been confined in were perhaps the most comfortable prison cells in the village. They opened straight into the lush gardens and with the warm spring weather it was more a vacation then anything else. 

They were sparring as Hiashi arrived; the wisp of smoke from Asuma’s most recent cigarette was faint on the air. Hiashi refrained from commenting, given what Asuma had been through, and he paused to watch them fight. Neither seemed to have lost any of their skill in the time they’d been gone. There was an underlying intensity to their fight, a slight desperation. The Hyuuga clan leader could understand. They were itching to get back to the lives they’d lost. Hiashi had been there when they told Asuma he had a daughter he couldn’t see until he’d been cleared. 

It took a moment for Neji and Asuma to finish their match. Neji had grown by leaps and bounds through his training but Asuma was one of the most experienced and seasoned shinobi in the village and they came out surprisingly equally matched. Hiashi joined them in the training area once the dust had settled.

“Uncle,” Neji bowed respectfully and Asuma nodded. 

“Your dedication is admirable,” Hiashi commented.

“Not much else to do,” Asuma shrugged, running a hand through his hair.

“Is there news from the Hokage’s Tower?” Neji asked, showing an impatience that was out of character.

Hiashi allowed a small smile to cross his face, “Yes, you’ve both been cleared to return to duty immediately.”

Asuma’s entire posture changed. “Well then, thanks for the room but if you guys don’t mind I’ve got somewhere way more important to be.”

Neither Hiashi or Neji tried to stop him, simply nodded their goodbyes as the jounin disappeared in a flash of smoke and leaves. 

“How are you feeling?” Hashi asked, once they were alone.

Neji shrugged, “Fine. I remember parts of the fight but that’s all.”

“Umino landed a few good blows,” Hiashi agreed. The office worker had landed a lot of very good blows and it had surprised Hiashi to see that level of skill from the schoolteacher. He’d never considered the teacher a truly gifted shinobi, what with his work split between the Academy and the mission’s desk and so few missions.

To be fair, Hiashi and the academy teacher had never gotten along. They’d fought viciously over the years about Hiashi’s children and the Hyuuga clan leader had twice attempted to have him removed from the academy. Both times Sandaime had refused, arguing that Iruka was there for a reason and he would not remove him for something as petty as a disagreement with the parent of a student. Was this newly demonstrated skill why Sandaime had refused to remove the young instructor? 

“Uncle?” Neji frowned. Hiashi had fallen silent, a frown marring his normally stoic face. “Where’s Hinata?”

ooo000ooo

: :Residential Neighborhood, Konohagakure: :

Hitsugya Toshiro was only five, but he was already smarter then pretty much everyone else. The couple he’d been placed with apparently refused to believe the extensive warning they’d received when he’d been left with them. He’d eavesdropped on the conversation after they’d sent him to the tiny back room and locked the door. It had taken all of a few seconds for him to pick the lock and slip into the hallway where he could hear the conversation clearly. The medical shinobi that had dropped him off had left quickly, but in his place two jounin Toshiro didn’t recognize had arrived and begun briefing the shinobi couple. 

Toshiro was only in his first year at the academy in a class with students coming up on their final year, due mainly to his father’s insistence that he was a genius. Toshiro himself hadn’t been too keen on being years younger then everyone else, but his entrance test had placed him in Iruka’s class. Iruka had pulled him aside his first day at the academy and asked the five year old why he was there. He hadn’t been happy when Toshiro had simply responded that his father had enrolled him because he didn’t have time to take care of him. Toshiro had sat outside Iruka’s classroom when his grandmother had come down to the academy to discuss the situation with Iruka because his father was too drunk to do it.

In the end, Toshiro’s ailing grandmother had managed to convince Iruka to allow Toshiro to not only stay at the academy, but to remain in Iruka’s class. Since Iruka was pretty much the only adult, besides his grandmother, that Toshiro respected and had no problem allowing Toshiro to stay late after class it worked out. He’d earned Toshiro’s undying devotion for helping him take care of his grandmother when her illness became too much for the five year old to handle and discretely paying the many medical bills she’d accumulated when his father was gone on mission or too sober for Toshiro to get at his wallet. Iruka was the only person Toshiro had trusted with the issues about his father and in return Iruka pretended not to notice that Toshiro had figured out the truth about Iruka’s parentage and several other things Iruka had been keeping secret. Like the fact that Iruka was worried about Root ANBU’s growth in the past few months and that he had access to the sealed Uchiha compound.

Toshiro’s intelligence was how he knew the two shinobi he’d been placed with were members of Root. Iruka taught his students that one way to tell how honest a person was, was by how real their emotions felt the moment you first time met them. The couple had greeted him at the door with smiles and a warmth that was so cold it made Toshiro, who preferred the cold, shiver. The wards inside the house were advanced and Toshiro recognized several from the various scrolls Iruka kept hidden around his apartment. The hallway had several other rooms, all with locked doors and Toshiro hadn’t seen wards that strong outside the Hokage’s office.

He inched towards the living room, until he could hear the voices clearly.

“Keep him here, don’t let him out of your sight.”

“He’s just a child. What possible use is he?”

“He’s important. He’s close to Umino.”

“Umino has had a lot of students over the years, they’re all important to him because he has no control over his emotions.”

“This is different, Umino and the boy’s father had it out in front of the Hokage. She intervened. It’s clear the boy is more important then the others.”

“Do you think Umino has the same relationship with the boy as he does with the jinchuriki?”

“That’s what the Council suspects. You need to question the boy while he’s here, but be careful. Umino thinks he’s a genius.”

“You’re kidding.”

“No, Umino has a good record spotting genius’. He taught the Hyuuga genius, the Uchiha, Nara, and he has a couple in his current class, besides the boy, who might qualify. If Umino thinks the kid is that smart then he probably is. Be careful. We can’t afford any mistakes right now.”

“What are they going to do with him?”

“Nothing for now, they just want something to keep Umino in check. They might place him in Root eventually.”

“Should we start preparing him for Root?”

“Go ahead, but don’t do anything that might reveal who you are. We can’t afford any distractions right now. The plan has to go off without any interruptions.”

The conversation was coming to an end. Toshiro slipped back into the small room and relocked the door. He’d stay tonight he decided, they had to let him go to class in order to keep up appearances. He could warn Iruka at the Academy the next morning.

ooo000ooo

: :Archives, Hokage’s Tower, Konohagakure: :

Iruka hefted the last box of scrolls with a grunt and carried it to the shelf. The archives of the Hokage’s Tower were a maze of shelves dating all the way back to the founding of the village. Trying to keep everything organized and up to date was nearly impossible. Iruka had put in plenty of overtime attempting to sort them out and had never succeeded in getting more then a few rows in. They’d tried making it a C or D rank mission for genin teams but one attempt by an unsupervised genin and a forbidden scroll had scrapped that plan, along with half the building.

Iruka had never minded the filing though. It was mindless work and he spent the majority of the time thinking about other things. The other ninja who worked in the Hokage’s Tower never bothered him; too worried they’d get dragged into the filing. He was pretty sure that the shinobi who didn’t work in the building didn’t even realize there was an archive. Even Iruka himself had never made it back to the oldest scrolls. He’d tried once when he was young and bored and it had taken Fugaku and Sandaime three hours to find him. Iruka had thought it was funny, Fugaku had not and Sandaime had just banned Iruka from entering the archive unsupervised. He hadn’t lifted the ban until three years into Iruka’s position at the mission desk, which had always amused Kotetsu and Izumo.

A sudden overwhelming force of chakra washed over Iruka like a cold bucket of water. He’d long since gotten used to their sudden appearance and he took pleasure in the fact that he’d learned quickly how to conceal any reaction to it.

Iruka didn’t pause in his work as he spoke. “Something I can help you find?”

“Where is the boy Iruka?” Koharu’s voice was cold as ice.

Now that he thought about it, Iruka didn’t think she’d ever spoken to him in any other tone. He played dumb; it was always guaranteed to infuriate her. “Which boy?”

“You know which boy. Don’t play dumb, we don’t have time for this.” Homaru had no patience; he shared that trait with Danzo. Koharu was the only one of the three who was any good at playing the long game and even she’d been no match for the Uchiha. Fugaku had laid plans that would still be effective a hundred years from now and he’d put gears in place to insure that those responsible for the annihilation of the Uchiha Clan paid for their crimes. Even Iruka wasn’t aware of all his plans and between himself and Itachi they’d ensured that even in the events of their deaths Naruto and Sasuke would be protected regardless of what the Council was expecting.

“Last I heard they were battling it out in the Valley of the End,” Iruka slid the last scroll in place and turned. They were blocking him in; they had a habit of doing that whenever they spoke to him. It was funny to watch them try to corner him when Kotetsu and Izumo were there, they always inched around and forced the two Konoha Council members to shift as a joke. One day they’d literally gone in circles for ten minutes before Koharu had realized what was happening. Iruka figured that by this point Koharu and Homura might actually hate Kotetsu and Izumo more then they hated him just for the constant mocking.

“That was months ago,” Koharu pointed out, which meant she and Homura had already sent their spies out to check and they’d come back empty handed. Ibiki’s investigation must have returned empty handed as well.

“If you can’t find them what makes you think I can?”

The looks they gave him spoke volumes. “We are not fools Iruka.”

Iruka had long since gotten past being polite when the Council cornered him in private. “I beg to differ, but I guess it’s a matter of personal opinion.”

Koharu’s chakra slammed into him like a wave, she liked to use it to intimidate anyone she felt was being disrespectful. “You know where Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke are, don’t you Iruka?

“No, I don’t. Don’t you think I’d be there with them if I did?” Iruka snarled.

They studied him in silence for a moment, weighing what they thought they knew of him and the situation. Someday Iruka was going to take great pleasure in informing them of every single mistake they’d ever made, starting with his birth and ending with whatever it was that finally led to their deaths.

“Loyalty to the dead will get you nowhere. You should reconsider where you stand, you might find yourself more welcome,” Homura warned.

“More welcome where? In your little Root Army? No thanks. I’ll stick with what I’ve got.” Iruka responded coldly.

“We stopped you from becoming a jounin Iruka. We can take away your chuunin rank as well, or your position at the Academy. Don’t forget that.” Koharu hissed.

“How could I when you remind me every chance you get.”

“Perhaps if you’d listen for once we wouldn’t have to,” Homura pointed out.

Iruka bristled, opened his mouth to speak but Koharu cut him off.

“Watch your step Iruka, you could always end up joining your clan much earlier then you were planning.” Koharu warned; a cruel smile twisted at her lips. She never forgot to remind Iruka that she’d had a hand in killing his entire family. 

“You mean the clan you wiped out? That one?” Iruka snarled. He never failed to loose his temper when she brought it up.

“Think carefully Iruka, that the only thing that kept Uzumaki Naruto alive was your presence. If you are gone there are those who fear the boy might become uncontrollable and thus a danger to the village. And you know what happens to those that are considered a danger to the village.” Koharu, Homura and Danzo had considered the Uchiha a threat to the village and the lengths they’d gone to see them destroyed had far surpassed even the evil Orochimaru had been capable of. 

“Not to mention what is to be done about Uchiha Sasuke. He was technically a missing nin and it would be easy to make him one again. It would be foolish for the village to trust him again after everything he has done.” Homaru added, his voice heavy with the implication of what they would do to him if they got the chance.

Red started to bleed into the corner of Iruka’s vision, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white and he had to fight to control his chakra. But there were more important things at stake then Iruka’s pain and the desire for vengeance that ate away at him as soon as night fell. “What is it exactly, that you’re suggesting I do?”

Koharu’s smile was smug, “While the two of you may not like each other, for some reason the Hokage trusts your opinion. So much so that she asked you to investigate the Hanta, which is quite ironic. We want you to insure that she never finds them.”

“And what about Naruto and Sasuke?” Iruka demanded.

“They will be left alone for now, though the matter will have to be revisited when they return,” Homaru made it sound like they were doing him a favor.

“Fine,” Iruka’s voice was full of venom. Koharu and Homura didn’t seem to notice, too smug in their victory as they teleported out of the archive room. As soon as they were gone Iruka put his fist through the wall.

ooo000ooo

: :Hokage’s Tower, Konohagakure: :

In the hallway outside the Archives Room, Kurenai and Gai stared at the door in horror.

“Oh my god,” Kurenai breathed.

“We must report this at once! To blackmail someone as honorable as Iruka-sensei with the lives of his students!” Gai hissed. He started for the door but Kurenai grabbed him.

“Gai, wait! Wait.” Kurenai took a deep breath to calm herself. A fired up Gai was hard to handle, especially when it concerned an injustice. He didn’t have it in him not to try to fix it. He was practically on fire and it was the first time she’d seen him anywhere near the man he was before the war since the final battle. 

She tugged Gai away from the door. “It sounds like its been going on for a while so why hasn’t Iruka said anything?” She questioned. Iruka wore his heart on his sleeve, had since the day she met him. He’d never been afraid to speak out about something he disagreed with no matter what someone’s rank was. “We need to wait and talk to Iruka first. He’s hasn’t reported it for a reason.” 

Gai paused and frowned, clearly struggling. He couldn’t argue with Kurenai’s logic and his own knowledge of Iruka supported her opinion. Still, to not say anything when the teacher was clearly being threatened with the lively hood of his students. What if Naruto and Sasuke returned? What about the hundreds of other students Iruka had had over the years? Gai was firm, “We cannot wait long.”

“We can find him this evening.” Kurenai promised. “Come on.” Kurenai tugged him away from the door and Gai followed reluctantly. They hurried out of the building without bothering to leave the scrolls they’d come to return.

ooo000ooo

: :Far Outside the Village of Konohagakure: : 

Naruto collapsed onto the hard ground with an ‘oomph’ and sent up a cloud of dust that briefly encompassed him. Sasuke coughed theatrically next to him and a brief, halfhearted shoving match ensued before Sakura put an end to it by collapsing on top of both of them. 

“Holy crap,” Kiba gasped for air. Shino and Hinata were propped up against him, both breathing hard.

“That was incredible,” TenTen breathed, leaning against a rock and soaked in sweat. Lee was still running around the valley with a maniacal smile on his face, stopping briefly to check on his teammate and the others.

“I’m so hungry,” Choji whimpered, sprawled out flat on the ground. Shikimaru and Ino were both using him as a pillow.

“We should have brought food,” Sakura agreed as Naruto’ stomach growled. 

“Ugh, I don’t know if I have the energy to make it back.” Ino groaned.

“Tell me about it,” TenTen agreed, watching as Lee finally made his way back to them. “Maybe Lee can just carry us all back.”

Lee collapsed next to her on the ground with a cheer, “Two hundred laps completed! I cannot feel my legs anymore!”

“Or not,” Kiba muttered.

“I think I have enough energy to get about halfway back,” Hinata said softly. Shino nodded in agreement.

“Great, one of you can carry me,” Sakura groaned.

“We should start heading back anyway, it’s getting dark.” Sasuke commented. 

It took a while for everyone to drag themselves to their feet. Lee made it two steps before collapsing face first back onto the ground and TenTen and Shikimaru had to haul him back up. 

Naruto predictably caught his second wind first and fired a wicked smirk at Sasuke. “Bet I beat you back teme.”

Sasuke’s eyes narrowed as Sakura groaned. “Not a chance in hell dobe.”

“Great,” Ino muttered as the air started to crackle with chakra. 

Kiba smirked and jumped in, “Bet I can beat both of you.”

Naruto let out a whop and took off, Sasuke and Kiba hot on his heels.

“Well I’m not going to be last,” Ino declared, with a significant look at Sakura, who glared back at her. Shikimaru rolled his eyes with a sigh.

They took off, bounding and pushing the limits of their chakra reserves. Kiba almost ran into a couple of trees and Naruto ended up in a lake twice, but they made it over halfway back to the Village of Hidden in the Leaves before they had to stop and simply walk the rest of the way. 

“Man, that was awesome!” Kiba cheered, slinging his arms over the shoulders of Hinata and Shino.

“Right! I wonder if that’s how your dad was so fast?” Sakura pondered, linking her arms through Sasuke and Naruto’s. 

Naruto paused, the thought had never occurred to him. “Huh, that’d be crazy.”

“Has Iruka-sensei said anything about your father?” Tenten asked.

Naruto shrugged, “No, I haven’t really asked.”

“Your dad was one of the most influential shinobi in the history of the village, but no one ever talks about anything except the way he died. It’s kind of weird,” Ino commented.

“Yeah, Kakashi-sensei talked about him once or twice, but he always looked like it hurt him a lot to talk about it. I tried not to ask,” Naruto admitted. It had been the same with Jiraya. “Besides, he died protecting the village and me, that’s all I need to know. I had a family even though he was gone. Iruka-sensei was always there, even when I was too young to realize it. Itachi too, later.”

“Itachi?” Sasuke asked, surprised.

Naruto glanced at his teammate. “Yeah. We got to talk a couple of times, before he died. He taught me a lot of important stuff.”

“About what?” Sasuke demanded. 

“Being Hokage, what it takes and what’s really important. I didn’t realize it before, but Iruka-sensei was telling me a lot of the same stuff. Do you remember when he had to teach us that class on the shinobi rules?”

“The one where he got to rule three and got so angry he threw the textbook out the window?” Sakura asked. It had been her textbook he’d tossed and she’d never gotten it back.

“He made us memorize them anyway.” Kiba sulked.

“He also said some of them were wrong,” Hinata added quietly.

“A lot of them were wrong,” Choji muttered.

“Yeah, but I didn’t get it. Not then anyway, I do know though,” Naruto shrugged self-consciously. “To protect and lead the village it has to respect you and to earn that respect you have to prove you’re the strongest beyond everything else. If the village doesn’t acknowledge you completely you can’t be Hokage.”

“It makes sense,” Shikimaru admitted. “Itachi was a missing-nin but he was still influential in the village after he left. Just a whisper of him being in an area and the village would change its entire security posture. They wasted hundreds of man-hours trying to track him down and sent the strongest shinobi in the village after him all at one time. He influenced policy and law without having to set foot in the village. Not to mention how things will change when what really happened to the Uchiha Clan comes out.”

“If it comes out,” Sasuke murmured. The others looked at him in surprise, except for Naruto, who just looked sad.

“Why wouldn’t it come out?” Ino demanded.

“Itachi didn’t want it to come out. He said it would do more damage to the village if we revealed it now. Iruka-sensei said the same thing.” Naruto answered, he didn’t sound happy about it.

“No one would believe it anyway,” Sasuke commented despondently.

“Then we’ll prove its true!” Kiba declared.

“If Iruka-sensei wants to wait, he probably has a good reason.” Hinata cautioned.

“There’s only a few Hanta left. If their enemies managed to turn the entire village against them, it wouldn’t matter how strong they were.” Shino added quietly and Choji nodded in agreement.

“My dad says you always have to remember that the people you’re fighting beside have their own families. Their own people who matter. Just because you don’t see them, doesn’t mean they aren’t there.” Choji’s voice was low. His father never spoke about the subject in anything above a whisper, a show of respect to a universal truth that had more influence on the outcome of a battle then anything else. “Who knows who else Iruka-sensei is protecting?”

“You’re family’s not always defined by blood,” Naruto exuberance returned with the words Iruka had spoken to him when he was young, and alone and so angry.

“Hell yeah!” Kiba cheered. “We’re family!”

“Definitely!” Ino agreed as they approached the gates. 

The conversation changed quickly, easily among friends who considered themselves family. “I’m hungry, want to pick up food before we head back to Iruka-sensei’s?” Choji suggested.

“You’re always hungry,” Shikimaru muttered, but no one argued.

“I kind of want dango,” Sakura rubbed her stomach as it growled.

“And ramen,” Nartuo added, his stomach far louder then anyone else’s.

Sasuke groaned. “No more ramen, dobe, you’re brain’s turning into a noodle.”

“No it’s not!” Naruto’s response was loud and indignant, like all those arguments they’d had in the academy. A hard reminder that while they’d grown, they were still young. Just barely beyond children and still struggling to figure out what it meant to be an adult in the world of shinobi. So far it was off to an interesting start.

Shikimaru sighed and stuffed his hands into his pockets as far as they could go. He had the nagging feeling he was forgetting something. An itch in the center of his back that he couldn’t reach no matter how he bent or flexed. 

ooo000ooo

: :Village Gates, Konohagakure: :

Temari did her best not to yawn as their delegation from Sand and the welcoming party from Konohagakure went through the standard greetings. Gaara looked as interested as he ever did, face blank and eyes cold. His diplomats were mostly used to it now, conducting their work around Gaara’s disinterest in the everyday social graces that diplomacy survived on. Fortunately Gaara’s strength still spoke for itself.

Kankuro’s shoulders vibrated slightly. He was yawning under his mask. Kankuro was better at the diplomacy aspect then either of his siblings and he frequently handled matters in Gaara’s place. Konohagakure held a special meaning for the three sand siblings though, so they always came together when there was a need to visit. Temari had been hoping Shikimaru would have been part of the welcoming party, but so far she hadn’t caught sight of him. They hadn’t seen each other much since the end of the war and those few crazy weeks after the final battle when everyone had been trying to get home and figure out what to do next. She was a little unsure where they stood now. Despite the strong relations between Sand and Leaf she knew their budding relationship wouldn’t last without one of them moving.

Sand was stable, her brother had seen to that. What would happen if she left didn’t worry Temari. Her brothers would be fine. So would Sand. They had a promising new crop of genin and Temari was actually looking forward to the next Chuunin Exam. It was her official reason for serving as a member of the diplomatic party and it looked like it was going to be the most peaceful one she’d ever seen. She wasn’t going to leave however, unless Shikimaru asked her too. She wasn’t going to be one of those women who followed guys around like puppies. She had too much self-respect.

She studied the welcoming party again. Shikimaru still wasn’t there, neither were any of his friends. She would never admit it but she’d been looking forward to seeing them all again. Sai was in the welcoming party though, along with Yamato. Temari recognized them both though she’d never really worked with them. She knew Sai, from his pale skin and blank face, as Sasuke’s replacement on Team 7 during his time as a missing nin. Yamato had been Team 7’s jounin-sensei during Kakashi’s absence. Gaara had informed her that Naruto had liked them both, despite the situations surrounding their presence.

The thought made her wonder where Naruto and Sasuke were. Gaara received regular updates on the status of the search and he’d been disappointed when the most recent investigation had come up with nothing. The main reason Gaara had agreed to come on this trip was the chance to talk to Ibiki and Hatake about the investigation. He’d been sending Sand shinobi out to follow their own leads on the possible whereabouts of the last Uchiha and Uzumaki but they hadn’t had any more luck then Konoha’s nin. It was confusing, even with Naruto and Sasuke’s skills they shouldn’t have been able to hide for this long. Every shinobi nation was looking for them. 

Though she would never say it out loud, deep inside Temari wondered if they were still alive. Gaara was insistent though, that Naruto and Sasuke were fine and given what Temari had seen them do, she couldn’t really argue with him. If there was one person who could pull off the impossible it was Naruto.

She yawned and glanced around. The diplomats were taking forever, blocking a large portion of the road through the gates and into the Village Hidden in the Leaves. A few civilians had inched by, trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible around a large group of foreign shinobi. There was a surprisingly large group walking towards the gates now. Temari squinted. The sun was behind them, making it hard for her to make out their faces. Something made her turn though, a sudden pit in her stomach as she recognized that certain gait Shikimaru had when he was walking, exhausted and thinking to hard. He was with the rest of the Rookie 11 and Temari couldn’t stop the soft gasp when she recognized the two boys walking close on either side of Sakura.

Her gasp made Shikimaru’s head snap up and his face pale.

Kankura, Gaara and the rest of the diplomatic parties turned to her.

“Temari, what’s wrong?” Gaara’s voice was cold.

She pointed. Too stunned to do anything else.

ooo000ooo

: :Village Gates, Konohagakure: :

Shikimaru’s head snapped up at the sound of a very familiar gasp.

Temari was standing at the gates with the diplomatic party from Sand. Both her brothers were present, along with Yamamoto, Sai and several high-ranking Konoha shinobi there to greet them. 

And here they were, just walking up to the gates like there was nothing wrong.

That itch turned into a white hot flash of terror. No one in the village knew Naruto and Sasuke were back. They’d spent the last few months hiding in Iruka’s carefully shielded apartment for their own safety, but now they’d walked up to the village gates in broad daylight. Shikimaru was reminded of the lesson his mother had always drilled into him when he was in the academy. It’s the small things that get you, she said; the best plans in the world fall apart because of little details that get over looked. In the excitement of learning a new jutsu and the rush of adrenaline from the run, Shikimaru had completely forgotten the need to sneak back into the village.

“Shit.” Shikimaru couldn’t help it when Temari raised her hand and pointed right at them.

“What?” Ino was instantly ready for a fight. 

“This is my fault,” Shikimaru muttered, “Damn it I wasn’t thinking.” It had been a long time since Shikimaru had wasted energy panicking about anything, but he could see Sai and Yamato in the Konoha welcoming party. If they were there Kakashi and the other jounin would know what had happened in minutes. So would the Hokage.

One by one the other members of the Rookie 11 realized what had happened.

“Naruto! Sasuke!” Sai’s excitement was clear and it made Naruto feel slightly guilty for shutting the other boy out. Sai had never done anything wrong and Naruto considered him a good friend, but he hadn’t been with Sakura when she and the others had banged on the Iruka’s door and demanded to see Naruto and Sasuke. The connection with Sai didn’t run as strongly yet, but Naruto wanted it to. He still considered the pale former Root ANBU a member of Team 7. He’d have to work on it now that there was no point in hiding in Iruka’s apartment. 

“What do we do?” Kiba hissed.

“Go with it,” Shikimaru’s mind spun, “Pretend we snuck out of the village to search and found them.”

“Yamato-sensei! Sai! Look we found them!” Sakura’s voice boomed with false enthusiasm.

Lee jumped in, “My friend Gaara from Sand! How wonderful to see you on this glorious day!”

It was hard to tell who looked more startled. The Konoha delegation at the sight of Naruto and Sasuke or the Sand delegation at the sight of Lee in all his green glory barreling toward their Kazekage, then hugging him tightly. 

ooo000ooo

: :Hokage’s Office, Hokage Tower, Konohagakure: :

Iruka slipped through the chaos of the mission room and into the quiet of the Hokage’s Office. Tsunade was in a meeting with the village elders, Shizune was at the hospital. ANBU left cursory guards on the office when the Hokage was out to protect any important paperwork but they’d been letting Iruka in without question for years. They barely even glanced at him now and he kicked the door shut behind him. Tsunade’s office just boarded on organized due to Shizune’s tireless efforts and Iruka sighed as he set the stack of papers down on her desk. Tsunade’s sake habit was obvious, usually Shizune was better at hiding it. 

Iruka slipped his copy of the cabinet key out of his pocket and grabbed the closest stack of papers. For some reason every Hokage he’d ever know was against filing paperwork. Tsunade just left it in stacks until someone else, usually Shizune or Iruka, finally broke down and did it for her. Sandaime had believed in taking people at their word and personal communication. The Third had ignored the piles of papers until they’d fallen on him or some poor shinobi unlucky enough to be in his office at the wrong moment. Both of them ignored Iruka’s insistence on getting the paperwork done and out of the way. 

Or, Iruka sighed, ANBU decided they’d had enough of the paperwork getting in the way and just stuffed random handfuls into random drawers for one of the office workers to find later. He started pulling the crumpled scrolls out of the drawer and doing his best to flatten and role them neatly. Most were too damaged to salvage and Iruka realized exactly how long it had been since he’d done the filing. It had been the first job he’d had in the mission room, when Sandaime had asked him to fill the position he’d been looking for a way to pull Iruka out of the darkness he’d sunk into following the annihilation of the Uchiha Clan and the last of Iruka’s family. It was a classic Sandaime move, Iruka mused and one Iruka himself had not realized until many years later. He’d kept Iruka close not just to protect him but to protect the village from a very angry young man. He’d pulled the same thing with Naruto and demonstrated why he was the only Hokage that had ever earned Fugaku’s full esteem. 

Despite everything, Iruka still held the old man in high regard and missed him terribly. Kikyo had always warned them that eventually the quality of those elected to the position of Hokage would decline. Iruka had worried that it would come with Sandaime’s successor, but he had to admit that Tsunade was holding her own. Iruka still didn’t like her. Though if he was honest, it was more an issue of trust, then like. He still had a hard time looking past her bloodline and abandonment of the village after the death of her lover Dan. She was loud and opinionated and stubborn and in an odd way she reminded him of a lot of Kikyo and Tsume and a little bit of Mikoto. Umino Kohari, the woman Iruka would always consider his birth mother, had a stillness that none of the others managed to carry and Iruka had learned from her to walk softly and strike swiftly.

The recent rash of resurrections, two more had been discovered last night and quickly handled by ANBU, worried Iruka. Neither Koharu or Homura were powerful enough to pull them off and Kabuto had refused to explain how he had done so to anyone except Iruka and Yajirobi. That meant there was someone involved that remained unseen by Iruka or anyone helping him. Someone was walking far more softly then anyone Iruka had ever encountered before. Which made every step Iruka or any of his friend’s took a huge risk. Iruka refused to put Naruto or the others in the line of fire. They might be chuunin now and on their way to adulthood, but they would always be the little children Iruka had shielded from the monsters hiding under their beds. 

He frowned and burned another scroll that was too damaged to repair. He could hear faint footsteps outside the office and felt Tsunade’s chakra clearly. Her meeting with the village elders must have ended early. That had been happening a lot lately and it wasn’t a good sign of stability at the leadership level of the village. Now that things had quieted down the village elders and the council were pushing their own agendas again. Trying to consolidate power and grab everything they could. It made Iruka angry and a little bit sad that the people tasked with protecting the village were so self-absorbed and willing to sell out the health of the village for their own personal gain.

Tsunade swept into her office with her usual presence and headed straight for the bottle of sake she kept hidden in her desk. Shizune entered more quietly, closing the door behind her and shooting Iruka a tired smile. “Iruka-sensei, sorry to disturb you.”

Iruka shrugged and smiled. “You’re fine, I’m just trying to catch up on the filing before the weekend. Besides, it’s your office.”

Shizune smiled bashfully. It might have been the Hokage’s office but Iruka ended up taking of most of the paperwork inside it.

Tsunade downed half the bottle of sake and belched loudly. 

“I take it the meeting went well?” Iruka joked. 

Shizune laughed, Tsunade snorted in derision.

“Those fools want me to release control of ANBU to the Konoha Council.” Tsunade snarled and took another drink.

Iruka’s blood went cold. Was that why Kaoru and Homaru had cornered him, testing the waters before they tried to grab ANBU and effective control over the majority of Konoha’s fighting forces from the Hokage? Granted Iruka wasn’t in the best of positions to do anything about it but the council was clearly covering their bases. If the council got their hands on ANBU they’d turn the entire organization into their personal army, Iruka and most of his friends would likely be dead in a week, along with Naruto, Sasuke and many of Iruka’s other students.

Tsunade held the bottle out to Iruka. “I told them no way in hell but they’re pushing the issue. They think it would be more beneficial if I was free to worry about the overall safety of the village instead of having to micro manage missions and ANBU.”

Iruka took the bottle. “No offense, Lord Hokage, but I handle most of the mission paperwork and organization.”

Tsunade pounded her fist on the desk. “That’s what I told them. We have mission’s desk workers for a reason and the damn process works fine. No point in wasting time fixing something that isn’t broken.”

I’ll bet they just loved that, Iruka thought and took a long pull from the bottle. If anything that would make them fighter harder to take away ANBU. 

Tsunade sighed. “Have you found out anything about Hanta?”

Iruka shook his head and slipped Shizune the bottle when Tsuande wasn’t looking. The other woman disappeared silently, taking the alcohol with her and leaving Iruka and the Hokage alone. “There are stories, but no one knows anything concrete.” Iruka lied. 

Tsunade looked openly disappointed and leaned heavily on her desk. “Damn, I was hoping one of you would find something.”

Iruka frowned, “One of us?”

“I asked the brat to look into too,” Tsaunde explained.

The brat being Kakashi, Iruka mused and a cold pit formed in his stomach. Was that why Kakashi had tested his abilities the other day? Because he suspected something? The fear was there for a moment and quickly gone with the realization that Kakashi would never have slept with Iruka if he suspected him of being a member of the Hanta.

“Taka too,” Tsunade added.

That didn’t worry Iruka. Taka was loyal and he’d been Hanta long before he’d become the head of ANBU. Taka would lie, stall, hide, kill or destroy whatever necessary to keep any secret Iruka asked him to and he understood the importance of keeping the identities of the last Hanta members secret.

“Maybe there’s nothing left to find.” Iruka suggested, keeping his voice light.

If anything that made Tsunade look even more upset. “Maybe. I’m not ready to give it up just yet though. I have faith you, Kakashi, or Taka will come up with something. Your excellent shinobi.”

Iruka was taken aback at her open admission. He’d never had a conversation with her like this. “Lord Hokage-”

“Tsunade,” she interrupted him. “You can call me Tsunade in private Iruka, it’s fine. I’m sure you didn’t call Hiruzen Lord Hokage while you were playing shogi.”

Iruka flushed and rubbed at his scar. “Well no,” he admitted, “But we had a much different relationship then you and I do Lord- Tsuade.”

She nodded as if she understood, “He was like a father to you.”

Iruka paused and decided to take a risk. “In a way.”

Tsunade arched an eyebrow at the statement. “Go on.”

“I had a father Tsunade, a good one. And I had several teachers who were like fathers to me. By the time I came under the care of Sandaime I didn’t want another one. I owe him more then I care to admit because of the way I treated his efforts to care for me, but it wasn’t just me. He cared the same amount for everyone in the village.” He was and always would be the ideal of the idea of the Hokage, even Iruka would admit that.

Tsunade smiled softly, “He was a father to the whole village.”

“Yes, he was,” Iruka agreed.

“What was your father like, Iruka?” It was a surprisingly personal question and Tsuande gaze was calculatingly curious.

“My father?” Iruka repeated, a little surprised and very wary.

“Father’s shape their sons,” the Hokage mused, “Look at Naruto and Sasuke. What was yours like?”

For a moment Iruka had nothing to say. It had been years, almost a decade he realized sadly, since anyone had asked about his father except to criticize his parenting. “It depends on which one you’re asking about. The man who raised me, Umino Ikkaku, was a shinobi. A jounin who specialized in taijutsu and had the patience of a saint. He left ANBU when they got me because he didn’t want to miss a moment of my childhood. Most of the shinobi he worked with looked down on his decision and the idea that he was willing to put something above his duty to the village.”

Tsunade started digging around in her desk for another bottle of sake. “Who was your birth father?” 

Iruka blinked. “What?” The Hokage let out a cry of triumph when she found another bottle and set it on the desk between them. 

“You said he left ANBU after they ‘got’ you,” Tsuande repeated; resting her on her laced fingers. “Where’d they get you from?”

It was the little things that always got you Iruka mused. A small slip of the tongue that most wouldn’t have noticed made for a small demonstration of why Tsunade was the Fifth Hokage. He debated how to answer. Honestly? That he’d been brought to their doorstep by bloody, betrayed Fugaku on a night that had resulted in the death of Hashirama’s only other descendent besides Tsunade.

This was a pinnacle moment Iruka realized. Either he and Tsuande maintained their adversarial relationship until one of them, most likely Iruka, finally lost or they finally moved towards trusting one another. She was one of the best choices in the village to protect Naruto and the others Iruka admitted. Between her position as Hokage and her connections outside the village she could keep them safe almost as well as Iruka and her attachment to Naruto and Sakura ensured she wouldn’t be swayed to let anyone seriously hurt Sasuke.

She was a Senju though and it was hard to forget all the stories he’d heard as a child. It was a moment of dark humor that he was sitting across from her now. A generation ago it wouldn’t have been possible, but a lot of things had changed since then.

“The woman who gave birth to me died when I was a few days old. The man who killed her entrusted me to the Uminos.”

Tsunade looked surprised. “Damn. I’ll admit that is not what I was expecting to hear from you of all people sensei.”

Iruka shrugged self-consciously. Half the time he didn’t believe his own story, he couldn’t blame others for being surprised. “Sandaime kept it quiet, for my sake.” And his own Iruka thought but didn’t say.

“You seem surprisingly well adjusted despite that,” Tsunade commented, taking a drink from the new bottle and pushing it towards Iruka.

Iruka raised an eyebrow, “If you say so.” He wasn’t at all but if Konoha’s greatest medical nin wasn’t going to say anything then neither was Iruka.

Suddenly, Tsunade sighed. “I spent a long time trying to live up to my grandfather and his brother. It didn’t occur to me until I was an adult that I didn’t have to.”

Iruka nodded, he’d had a similar lesson. Most children did.

“I need the Hanta Iruka,” she continued, “An organization like that is exactly what the village needs right now. Hope, honor, a return to the glory days.”

Iruka couldn’t argue with that. “Why don’t you create a new group to take up the role of the Hanta?”

“It wouldn’t be the same. I’m ashamed to say the situation is too far gone for a simple band aid.” She looked honestly upset and a little bit guilty. “The Konoha Council want ANBU, the village elders want the ability to create and control missions. They both want me gone and god knows what they want to do to Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke.”

Iruka knew but he stayed silent. It was clear Tsunade understood the seriousness of the situation.

“I don’t know why we don’t get along Iruka. Though I admire the guts you had to break my arm while I was breaking yours.”

Iruka blushed; surprised she’d brought it up. “Well I –“

“Don’t apologize,” she interrupted, “There aren’t many people in the village who speak as freely as you do. It can be a welcome change, when it isn’t annoying.”

Iruka shot her an annoyed look and she smirked. 

“It works both ways sensei.” She still wasn’t completely sure why Sandaime had trusted the chuunin so much. She thought she caught glimpses every once and awhile but whatever had forged the Third’s iron trust in the academy teacher had yet to show itself fully to Tsunade. What she had seen though, was enough to make her curious.

ooo000booo

...tbc...


	9. Yowai Hikari

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jiraya returns and Kakashi becomes suspicious of Kotetsu, while TenTen and Lee give Neji an ultimatum.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long!
> 
> I have a wonderful beta now, which hopefully means things will move along faster now!
> 
> Also, I still own nothing.

ooo000ooo

Chapter 8  
Yowai Hikari  
Weak light

Sometimes the hardest storms to get through are the ones your soul needs most. And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. But survive you did. And one thing is certain, when you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what the storms all about. – Haruki Murakami

ooo00ooo

: :Hokage’s Office, Hokage Tower, Konohagakure: :

Yamato kept a firm hand on Naruto and Sasuke as he marched them through the Hokage’s Tower. Sai was hot on their heels, the three Sand siblings not far behind. The Rookie 11 followed a bit further back, content to allow Naruto and Sasuke to remain the center of attention. There was no reason to jump in now. No one had tried to harm Naruto and Sasuke yet, which had been their biggest concern. So far everyone just looked stunned. 

Sai was excited, awkwardly asking questions that Naruto avoided answering and Sasuke just ignored. Sakura was doing her best to make up answers on the fly that all made sense and were easy to remember later. She wasn’t doing very well.

Shikamaru’s mind was racing, planning and trying to account for every possible question that could come their way. Yamato had been silent thus far, only stating that they were going straight to the Hokage and refusing to bend when Naruto asked if they could stop for ramen first.

Kiba and Shino were trying to subtly send out chakra bursts to get Tsume and Shibi’s attention. Shino was having more luck; every time Kiba tried the ANBU guards started looking around.

Hinata was surreptitiously trying to keep an eye out for her father or Neji, so were Lee and TenTen. They still hadn’t decided what to do about their newly returned teammate and they’d been evaluating their team and how they wanted to move forward in general. They both new something was wrong with Gai and they’d shared their worries with Iruka, who’d agreed to pick up the slack in their training until Konoha’s Green Beast recovered. 

ANBU had clearly been warned they were coming. The number of guards surrounding Tsunade’s office had doubled; the wave escorting them slowly growing as word spread and more trickled in.

Tsunade was in the middle of arguing with Iruka and the Council over Toshiro when her office door slammed open and ANBU stormed in. Before she could even demand to know what was going on, Yamato hauled two figures forward and Tsunade’s heart lodged in her throat.

Naruto and Sasuke, both looking surprisingly clean and healthy considering they’d been god knows where in the months following the fight with Kaguya. The rest of the Rookie 11 piled in behind them, along with the official part from Sand. Tsunade’s office was suddenly very full and terrifying quiet.

Tsunade opened her mouth.

Shikamaru subtly kicked Naruto. Ino wasn’t nearly as sneaky but her blow propelled Sasuke, and with him Naruto, across the room.

“Iruka-sensei!” Naruto and Sasuke tackled the surprised academy teacher. All three went down in a heap, nearly taking out Tsunade’s desk in the process. 

Thankfully, Iruka wasn’t an idiot and realized immediately what was happening. ANBU tried and failed to pull Naruto and Sasuke away, eventually Tsunade motioned them to stop and allowed the reunion to take place.

Iruka managed to get his feet under him and stand, dragging Naruto and Sasuke up with him. Naruto immediately launched into a story, babbling through nerves and panic, well aware he wasn’t going to be able to lie his way out of the situation. “It was crazy Iruka-sensei! We fought for days after you guys left. It was so hard and I was so hungry, can we get ramen?”

The Rookie 11 piled in, putting on a show that made Iruka proud. Eleven voices drowned out the ANBU trying to get everything under control, Yamato trying to get everyone to focus and the Council furiously demanding answers.

“Naruto!” Tsunade’s voice cut through everything and silenced the office.

Naruto slowly faced the Sanin.

“Do I even need to ask?” Her voice was cool, steady, hiding the thundering heart in her chest. Naruto’s face took on that stubborn look. The one that drove Tsunade crazy and inspired her at the same time. A look she’d seen on Jiraya when he was that young, and Minato. And Nawaki. She knew instantly that whatever he was about to say was a lie.

“Where have you been?” Koharu demanded, stepping into the fray.

“Travelling,” Naruto mumbled, eyes shadowed.

“Travelling where boy? Speak up. You do realize your future depends on your justifications for abandoning the village.” Koharu’s mouth twisted.

“I didn’t abandon the village!” Naruto denied furiously. “I just needed time to figure things out.”

“Doing who knows what in places you won’t talk about,” Homaru remarked.

Kakashi appeared in a furious flash of smoke and floating leaves. Tsunade didn’t even have to look at him to feel the anger rolling off him in waves. “He can’t explain anything if you don’t give him the chance to answer the question.”

“Kakashi-sensei!” Naruto’s exuberance was quickly dampened by Kakashi’s cold exterior. Tsunade knew exactly how much he cared about his former students, but she also understood the ramifications of Kakashi blindly defending them. One grain of doubt would be enough to ruin them all. Kakashi’s best course of action was to be harder on them then everyone else, to leave no doubt in anyone’s mind that they were loyal shinobi and always had been. Just knowing a shinobi who’d betrayed the village was enough to cast a palm over another entire life. Miturashi Anko was a prime example, so were her fellow genin teammates Yamake Yajirobi and the now dead Hayate. Orochimaru’s actions were forever associated with them.

Tsunade hoped Sasuke was smart enough to realize the affection behind his actions. It was hard to tell. Even know he watched the room silently, face blank, eyes shadowed, staying close to Iruka. She hadn’t realized the academy teacher was that close with the last Uchiha. She’d never picked up the ability to read the Uchiha they way she could Sakura and Naruto. He was, like Iruka, an enigma to her. 

Speaking of which, the teacher was keeping a firm hand on both his former students. Stopping Naruto from flailing around like he usually did and Sasuke from likely running out the door. Tsunade had a deep suspicion that the only reason Sasuke was back was Naruto’s influence.

“What have you been doing? You’ve been gone for months,” Shizune asked, voicing everyone’s main question.

“We were training,” Naruto shrugged like the answer was that simple. 

For him maybe it was. Naruto had never had much patience for politics. He didn’t have the heart for it. Part of Kakashi hoped he would never develop it, but it was a necessity for anyone who wanted to be Hokage. Eventually Naruto would have to grow up and understand that it was a necessary part of life in a shinobi village. 

“Why didn’t you just come back?” Shizune sounded as confused as the rest of them. 

Naruto floundered. “We weren’t ready.”

“That’s it?” Koharu demanded.

“What did you expect?” Iruka broke in. “They’re still young.”

“They’re shinobi,” Hamura argued.

“They’re children,” Iruka almost snarled, gearing up for an argument he’d had hundreds of times with hundreds of different people about hundreds of his students. “You sent them to war before they were old enough to even understand what it was.”

“We’ve sent nin younger then them into wars before,” Koharu pointed out, nodding at Kakashi as her prime example.

Kakashi looked perfectly uninterested.

Iruka dealt a low blow, “They are not Hatake. Their situations are different, they were born into peace. Hakate may have been suited for killing at a young age but that doesn’t mean everyone is and it sure as hell doesn’t mean it’s okay to take that path.” 

“They need to be questioned.” Ibiki interrupted.

“They need to rest, you can question them tomorrow,” Iruka argued.

Ibiki actually looked ready to back down, to Tsunade’s surprise. The Council weren’t as willing to let things go.

“All shinobi are immediately questioned on their return from a mission,” Homura pointed out.

“Most of them just write reports,” Iruka argued, “And they’re usually late.”

“Enough!” Tsunade roared, silencing the room. “Naruto, Sasuke,” she paused just long enough to make them worry. “Do you have somewhere to stay?”

They both immediately pointed to Iruka.

“I disagree,” Koharu jumped in immediately. “They should be kept under supervision by ANBU until they are cleared.”

“You can stay with Iruka, I will assign someone else as your guardian until your cleared to return to duty.” Tsunade broke in, desperately attempting to keep the situation under control.

“Very well, I’ll summon an ANBU,” Koharu agreed.

Iruka looked ready to disagree. Any ANBU Koharu sent was almost guaranteed to be a member of Root.

“I will choose,” Tsunade stated.

“You’re hardly unbiased, Lord Hokage,” Homura pointed out.

“Nevertheless, I am Hokage,” Tsunade’s voice was firm as she stared down the council.

There was a glint of something close to respect in Iruka’s eyes.

“I’ll do it.” Yajirobi’s voice was soft, the man hardly ever raised it, but it still managed to echo through the room. He was standing in the back, leaning against the wall in a manner similar to Kakashi’s favorite slouch.

The Council disagreed immediately, aware of his close connection to Iruka, though the majority of the room was not.

“That’s hardly appropriate,” Koharu snapped. “Given your own clouded past.”

“Yamake has a clean, decorated history of service to the village,” Ibiki broke in, “We’ve never found any evidence that he was ever involved with or aware of Orochimaru’s actions. He’s also an incredibly skilled shinobi, he’d be able to handle them if things turn bad.”

Ibiki’s logic was solid, if surprisingly flattering to the quiet jounin many had worked with but none knew. Kakashi had nothing bad to say about the man, despite his relationship with Orochimaru and Kabuto. No one had ever found proof connecting Yajirobi to their actions.

“Very well. It’s settled.” Tsunade declared.

“What?” Koharu’s surprised showed clearly on her face.

“This is not a wise decision Lord Hokage,” Homaru warned.

“It’s settled. Yamake, all other missions are on hold. Until I say otherwise, you’re only assignment is the supervision of Naruto and Sasuke.”

Yajirobi nodded. “Understood.”

 

“We object,” Koharu snapped, control slipping. “Stop being a foolish child and do as we say. They should be remanded to the custody of one of our shinobi.”

The room went silent. 

Tsunade’s face went carefully blank.

The Rookie 11 inched towards Iruka, who stared at the Konoha Council in disbelief.

ANBU was at the ready, though they didn’t look nearly as threatening as Shizune whose face was twisted in fury. Kakashi had a similar look as he turned to Tsunade, clearly awaiting the order to remove the Council from her office.

Before anyone else could respond, Yajirobi stepped in front of the Council. Effectively blocking their path to Naruto and Sasuke and stalling anyone else who was preparing to speak. His voice was cold, empty, and terrifying. “You’re supposed to set an example. Clearly you can’t set one about character, but you should at least set one about behavior and not disrespect your Hokage in a room full of people. Even the children in here know better then that.”

Jaws dropped. Even Kakashi and ANBU, hidden behind their masks, couldn’t hide their surprise. 

Tsunade had never heard Yamake speak and for a moment, she just stared at him.

The Council looked furious instead of embarrassed. For a moment Iruka thought they might actually push their luck, but Koharu and Homura hadn’t lasted this long by being that foolish. They back peddled with impressive skill, turning to Tsunade they bowed deeply and apologized. “Our apologies Lord Hokage. The stress of the situation caused us to be disrespectful in the heat of the moment.”

Tsunade looked torn. She wanted to destroy them, but the logical part of her knew it wasn’t the time for that. It took her a moment to get herself under control enough to speak, “That’s understandable, it’s been a long day. Go home and rest, we will discuss this more at a later date.”

The Council bowed deeply and left. Silence reigned for a moment, before the tension began to bleed away. Tsunade waved ANBU away and the gawkers in the hallway began to disperse. Murmurs of disbelief, equally dispersed between the return of Naruto and Sasuke and the behavior of the Council.

Tsunade sighed, suddenly very tired. Naruto tried to look as innocent as possible. Iruka looked annoyed and Sasuke’s face was still blank. The rest of the Rookie 11 stared at her with big, hopeful eyes. “Do you have somewhere to stay if I let you go tonight?”

Naruto immediately pointed to Iruka, “I still have my room at Iruka-sensei’s place, Sasuke’s staying with us too.”

Tsunade looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded at Yamake. “You too.” He nodded in understanding and she turned back to Naruto and Sasuke. “For tonight, get some rest. You’re going to need it tomorrow.”

ooo000ooo

: :Hyuuga Clan Compound, Konohagakure: :

TenTen and Lee hesitated at the sight of the intimidating gates to the Hyuuga Compound. Despite being teammates since the academy, TenTen and Lee had only been allowed in the Hyuuga compound a handful of times. Neither of them was that upset about it, the strict rules and practices of the clan were more then a little off putting. Neither Lee or TenTen were from shinobi clans and the environment of the compound was unlike anything either of them had experienced before. Neither liked it and in recent days they’d begun wondering if all clans had the same kind of environment. They’d gotten to visit the Inuzuka, Aburame, Nara,Yamanaka, and Akimitchi compounds and talking to Sasuke and Iruka had made them curious about what the Uchiha compound had been like. Regardless, they were both convinced all of them were better than the Hyuuga compound.

“Maybe we could meet Neji somewhere, a restaurant or tea shop?” TenTen suggested.

“No! Neji needs to spend time with his family to heal from this ordeal! We should not interrupt the process! We must protect Neji as long as possible!” Lee declared, always the better of the two of them when it came to putting on a brave face.

“I think that means he’d be better off with us then them, but whatever,” TenTen muttered. Neji had always struggled with social bonds, even with the team he’d spent so much time with. TenTen was convinced it came with being a genius; Sasuke and Shikimaru had their own versions of the problem. Both of them had made leaps and bounds in the last couple years and TenTen had thought Neji was doing the same. Hopefully, the whole coming back from the dead thing didn’t change that. But Lee was right, they needed to protect him. Someone was clearly trying to use Neji for something that could get him killed and they weren’t going to allow it.

They knocked, were greeted coolly by a clan member they didn’t recognize and followed him quietly inside. 

The Hyuuga Compound was clean, stark and simplistic; a drastic contrast from the crowded homely feeling of the Inuzuka compound or the dark warmth of the Aburame clan’s home. It made TenTen and Lee nervous to even touch anything.

He left them alone in a plain pale blue room that smelled like lilacs and overlooked the garden. Tea was already set out, in cups that cost more then Lee or TenTen would ever be able to afford.

Watching Lee try to sit still and not touch anything while they waited was priceless. He only made it to a minute before he started doing pushups in the corner of the room. TenTen sniffed the tea. It was that fancy orange spice Neji liked and she thought tasted like grass. She sighed; even the teacakes were plain.

Neji arrived with little pomp. Lee launched himself across the room before TenTen could even say hello and she watched Lee nearly smother their teammate in his joy. For once, Neji didn’t immediately try to break away.

“Neji, my eternal rival! I am so glad you are back! We should spar!” Lee was practically on fire.

TenTen rolled her eyes with all the fondness she could manage and hugged Neji tightly. “Ignore him, he’s just happy. We’re glad your back.”

Neji smiled, well, as close as he ever got to one. “Thank you. It feels strange to be back, but good at the same time.”

They sat around the tea and for a moment the camaraderie they’d had before was back as Lee and TenTen filled Neji in on what they could without giving too much away.

“Do you know what you want to do next?” TenTen asked over the rim of her teacup.

Neji didn’t blink, “I need to focus on the clan for a while, Hanabi needs to be protected as she begins training to lead the clan after Hiashi. After that I was thinking about ANBU.”

TenTen stilled. “Hanabi’s still taking over the clan?”

Neji nodded.

“But Hinata’s gotten so much stronger!” Lee gapped. Hinata had grown by leaps and bounds and though she was still somewhat quiet and shy, she’d become better at speaking her mind. Her family however, always managed to send her right back to the shy, stuttering girl she’d been in the academy.

“It doesn’t matter, Hinata will never be as strong as Hanabi. She doesn’t have the right personality to lead the clan.” Neji looked like he was trying to be sympathetic towards Hinata, but his words were cold and final. He still loved his cousin, but the clan was suffering. They hid it well, but behind closed doors and deep within the compound conflict was brewing over the clan’s path. 

Lee and TenTen shared a look and a silent agreement. They’d chosen to stick with the Rookie 11 and that meant Hinata. Her own clan’s refusal to see her strength and value stung and they were instantly defensive on her behalf. They set their cups down and stood.

“Thank you for the tea, but we should be going.” Lee, ever polite, bowed deeply. 

TenTen didn’t bother being polite, too angry that even after all these years Neji still hadn’t caught on. “Lee and I are going to be a team by ourselves for now. When you finally get your head out of your ass, you know where to find us.”

“What?” Neji looked stunned. “You’re kicking me off the team?”

Lee was uncharacteristically somber as he spoke. “We’re not kicking you off the team, my eternal rival! We are simply suggesting that you take some time to reconsider your opinions on certain matters. And that you consider where you would like your life to go. Until then, TenTen and I shall uphold the name and honor of Team 11.” 

Neji was starting to get angry. He’d just come back from the dead and the first thing his supposed teammates did was tell him he wasn’t on the team anymore. Their disapproval of his clan’s decisions was a low blow and not something Neji had ever thought would impact their friendship. Forcing Neji to choose between his clan and his team wasn’t fair. “That’s not your decision.”

“Actually it is,” TenTen’s voice was cold, “Gai-sensei has taken a leave of absence, we’re training with Iruka-sensei until he comes back. Gai-sensei left membership in Team 11 up to us. When you figure out what your fighting for let us know. Until then, good luck searching.”

TenTen turned and walked out. Lee hesitated, studying Neji for a moment longer, before he too turned and walked out.

Listening through the door, Hanabi watched, furious, as Lee and TenTen left. How dare they accuse Neji of being weak. He was stronger then both of them combined. They were jealous, she concluded, of her cousin’s strength. Well he didn’t need them, he had the clan. When Hanabi took over she would make sure they never treated Neji like that again.

At another door, Hiashi frowned. He had thought Neji’s relationship with his team had improved before his death. This seemed out of the blue, unless he had been under the wrong impression. Perhaps it was further evidence of his failure as a parent and a clan leader. Hinat had not been back to the compound in three days. He’d received word that Naruto and Sasuke had returned, but he had yet to see them. He knew without a doubt that Hinata was with them and he was sure that was what had prompted Lee and TenTen’s ultimatum. What were they planning, Hiashi wondered.

ooo000ooo

: :Umino Iruka’s Apartment, Konohagakure: :

Sakura was the only member of the Rookie 11 at Iruka’s apartment when they arrived. The others had gone to their own homes for the night, Hinate was staying at the Inuzuka compound and Naruto and Sasuke were getting checked out at the hospital. Sakura had been banned from going with them and she been pacing with worry when Hanna and Taka arrived. Hanna’s smile was warm and friendly, exactly what Sakura would expect from Kiba’s older sister. 

Taka was…Taka was different. Sakura didn’t recognize him at first, without the mask and cloak he almost always wore. He was surprisingly attractive. The striking looks that all those associated with the Uchiha seemed to have. Even Iruka-sensei in a way. His kindness made him one of the most attractive people Sakura had ever met and he would always remain the golden standard by which she measured kindness. 

Taka though, Taka had a physical virility that Sakura hadn’t noticed before. He was built like a tank. He was wearing a short-sleeved shirt so she could see every muscle defined clearly in his arms. Over written with scar upon scar and a collection of intertwined tattoos that Sakura was very interested in seeing up close.

He held himself with a confidence that only came with years of experience. Something Sasuke still lacked, though Sakura was certain he’d have it soon. But she’d been watching his growing relationship with Naruto and that small ember of hope that he’d one day realize he loved her that way was dwindling. Her love for her teammates and her desire to see them happy soothed the hurt though and it was finally allowing her to start to notice other options. She’d even had a moment of realizing that Kiba and Shikimaru were both very attractive. Of course she’d wanted to puke seconds later because she considered them brothers but for a brief second she had noticed them in that light.

Taka though… Sakura watched him discreetly as he and Iruka talked in the living room. Facing one another across Iruka’s battered old coffee table. The air was tense. Iruka rubbed his hands together, a nervous tick Naruto had pointed out, and gazed solemnly out the window. It was odd to see someone like Taka, who looked like he beat up kids like Iruka in the Academy, sitting across from Iruka asking for advice. There was a familiarity between them that surprised Sakura, a level of comfort that suggested something more like family instead of friends.

Hanna relaxed easily in the company of both men, providing a sounding board and level head to two hot tempers. Sakura was beginning to admire her the way she had previously admired Tsunade.

She grabbed the teapot when it started to whistle and poured the water carefully into Iruka’s beat up old tea set. There was a faint, faded impression of a fan that Sakura had never noticed before. She placed the set gently on an equally aged tray and debated whether or not to add a few sugar cookies. 

She scrapped the idea. Iruka’s sweet tooth leaned more towards fruit and Taka didn’t look like someone who indulged in sweets ever. Hanna was forever lecturing Kiba on his eating habits. 

She carried the tray into the living room as an excuse to listen in on the conversation. All three of the adults were too distracted to pay her much attention as she poured the tea and took a set next to Iruka, across from Taka.

“They’re pushing harder then ever. Yesterday they showed up at the training grounds and started dictating training routines.” Taka sounded angry, at the end of his rope. He had the same nervous habit as Iruka, massaging his hands until his knuckles were white. Two scars ran horizontally through his eyes, similar to Kakashi’s, making Sakura wonder what they were from. His hair was a dark, spikey mess, reminding Sakura even more of Sasuke and Itachi and she caught herself staring.

“They’re pushing because Tsunade has been busy trying to get the village back in order and they know she only do so much at once.” Hanna interjected. “Mom’s about ready to start taking heads if things don’t get back under control.”

“Maybe we should just let her,” Taka muttered.

Iruka snorted, “There wouldn’t be anyone left. How did ANBU take it when they showed up at the training ground?”

Taka smirked, looking something like cheerful for the first time that night. “I didn’t think it was possible to ignore someone that effectively.”

“Well at least we don’t have to worry about ANBU taking their side,” Hanna commented, smiling as she took a cup from Sakura.

“No, just Root,” Iruka frowned, accepting his own cup.

Sakura felt her cheeks flush as she handed Taka his cup and he smiled briefly at her. 

Iruka watched the interaction and frowned. Hanna hid her smile behind her cup.

“What happens if the Council gets control of ANBU?” Sakura asked.

“Everybody dies,” Iruka responded darkly.

“Not everybody,” Hanna corrected dryly, “Just anyone associated with us. The problem,” she explained to Sakura, “Is that, while we’ve identified some members, we don’t have an accurate count on exactly how many members they have. The couple we’ve caught and interrogated,” and killed and buried went unsaid, “have a jutsu written onto the backs of their tongues that prevents them from speaking about anything related to Root.”

“Whoa, that’s dedication,” Sakura muttered.

“Its not always done willingly,” Taka murmured.

“That’s also part of the problem,” Hanna admitted, “Only the person that cast the jutsu to begin with can remove it.”

“So there’s no way to know who willingly joined Root and who was forced too.” Sakura concluded, her face twisting in horror. “And there’s no way to save those that were forced to join.”

“Exactly,” Iruka had his head in his hands now, shaking it slowly.

ooo000ooo

: :Mission Room, Hokage’s Tower, Konohagakure: :

Kotetsu yawned and cursed the short straw that left him with the last of the day’s filing. Iruka had needed the break though and Kotetsu wanted a chance to observe Tsunade himself. Iruka was an excellent judge of character, but even he had his weak points and the last Senju was definitely a sore spot. 

He’d been hoping for a quiet night, after the chaos that followed Naruto and Sasuke’s return. The Hokage’s Tower had been buzzing for a couple hours afterward. Genma and Raido had eventually ordered everyone out so the Mission Desk workers could finish their work in peace. The only people left in the building now were Kotetsu, Tsunade, Shizune, and the Hokage’s ANBU guards.

It lulled Kotetsu into the false hope of finishing early. He was unaccountably upset when Jiraya came crashing through the newly repaired wall, sending two ANBU guards flying through the opposite one and sending the small stack of reports Kotetsu had left flying. He frowned at sheets of paper as they scattered and wondered why, as a child, he’d ever thought fifty-two pick up was fun.

Tsunade, Shizune and the rest of ANBU came running and nearly got taken out in a isngle blow when Jiraya fired off a Rasengan attack with more speed then Kotetsu thought he was capable of.

“Surround him,” the ANBU captain roared, then turned to Shizune, “Stay with the Hokage.”

Kotetsu glanced at the Hokage, she was frozen in shock at the sight of Jiraya and he frowned. She’d frozen at the sight of blood when she first fought Kabuto too. That wasn’t promising.

Tsunade couldn’t believe it. First Naruto and Sasuke were back and now Jiraya. Something was clearly wrong with her old teammate though; Jiraya had the same blank look on his face Neji and Asuma had when they’d first appeared.

Tsunade immediately looked for the red string that had been in the report. She couldn’t see it at first, Jiraya was on full attack and ANBU wasn’t holding anything back trying to stop him. They weren’t doing much against the sanin. The office nin, Hagane, was staring at a pile of papers slowly floating to the ground. They’d clearly been disrupted by Jiraya’s attack and Hagane looked more upset about the papers then the actual attack.

“Look out,” Shizune screamed as Jiraya lunged toward Hagane. 

Kotetsu turned just in time to see Jiraya charging toward him with that utterly blank look on his face. The sanin’s hand was raised, the Rasengan attack already forming. Kotetsu barely had time to brace himself before it hit. 

Tsunade launched herself into the fight while Jiraya was distracted by Hagane. The chunnin was holding his ground against the powerful attack and Tsunade had just a half a second to admire his strength before she was engaging her friend.

She couldn’t see the red string at first and she had to knock him back a few times before she could get the right angle. It glinted briefly in the light, just for a second but it was enough for Tsunade memorize where it was. Getting at it was another matter. She loved Jiraya, more then she would ever admit out loud, but she couldn’t allow him to hurt anyone. Jiraya would never allow it and more importantly he would never forgive himself. Tsunade would do everything in her power to stop him without killing him, but if it came down to it, she owed Jiraya a quick and painless death. 

Jiraya landed a lucky blow, knocking Tsunade back into the only wall still standing. She pulled herself to her feet just in time to see two of her ANBU knocked clear out of the building. Neither of them were going to be back in the field anytime soon.

Tsunade turned to Shizune. “Keep everyone out of the way.”

“Tsunade-sama, what are you going to do?” Shizune sounded terrified, torn between joy and sorrow at the sight of Jiraya and the thought of what Tsunade was going to have to do.

“I will take care of Jiraya, just keep everyone else back. And get that idiot Hagane out of the way, he’s going to get himself killed!” Tsunade launched back into the fight

More and more shinobi flooded the area. Kakashi returned, Genma and Raido hot on his heels. Kakashi might have been some help in the fight against Jiraya with the sharingan but she didn’t know what Genma or Raido, both still recovering from harsh missions, would be able withstand. 

Shizune and the fear of getting into a fight with a sanin kept most of the newcomers back. 

Kakashi and the others began pulling wounded out of the Tower and Tsunade spared a moment to consider the toll this would take on Kakashi, mentally and physically, the poor brat just couldn’t catch a break when it came to the people he loved. Kurenai and Asuma arrived, followed closely by Sai and Yamato. Tsunade had a brief moment of terror thinking that Naruto and Sasuke might someone how appear, but the hospital went on lock down whenever the Hokage’s Tower was under attack. Even Naruto wasn’t mischievous enough to make it out of there.

Tsunade’s next attack knocked Jiraya back and Kotetsu leap back, admiring Tsunade’s technique, maintained even though she’d been off the front line for years. She wasn’t half bad, for a Senju and he smirked. No wonder she bugged Iruka so much, he couldn’t even classify her as useless fighter. A sharp pain on his wrist alerted Kotetsu to Iruka’s message. An old Hanta jutsu that allowed them to send messages written on their skin to one another with a small burst of chakra. Iruka wanted to know if he needed to respond, messages came through from Izumo, Yajirobi, Hanna and Anko not long after. Kotetsu told them all not to bother. Tsunade looked angry enough to handle the whole situation by herself and Kotetsu wanted to see her do it.

He side stepped a chunk of desk and landed lightly among several ANBU trying to guard the last wall still standing. Behind it was the main support beam for the entire tower, if it was damaged the destruction would be un-repairable. Unfortunately, a few ANBU weren’t enough to stop Jiraya, who suddenly changed direction and turned his attention to the wall instead of Tsunade. He sent the ANBU flying with relative ease, though they didn’t seem that intent on fighting back. It seemed like most of those present weren’t ready to hurt Jiraya and it was hurting their ability to fight back. 

Kotetsu grinned and met Jiraya head on. He heard someone scream and then it felt like he was getting hit by boulder falling from the top of a very high mountain. He’d been hit by worse though, Tsume and Kikyo weren’t known for pulling they’re punches and managed to stop Jiraya in his tracks, sliding back only a bit. The support beam was safe and before Kotetsu could counter attack Tsunade was there, slamming Jiraya into the ground and cutting the red string Kotetsu couldn’t see.

Silence fell. Kotetsu stayed close until Jiraya’s eyes cleared, then backed away. The sanin looked confused, a little lost, and somewhat pitiful. Kotetsu slipped to the back as a flood of Konoha shinobi suddenly rushed forward to help.

Kakashi was the first to reach them, followed closely by Shizune. There was a moment of chaos, of Shizune and Kurenai demanding to know if they were all right, Asuma and the ANBU captains were trying to get everyone organized and the Tower locked down and Genma and Raido kept trying to pull Tsunade away from Jiraya for her own protection. 

For such high-ranking shinobi the chaos lasted longer then Kotetsu had been expecting. Fuagku would never have allowed it, nor did Iruka. They both focused on efficiency in situations like this and Kotetsu couldn’t help but pick out what they would have handled better. Kotetsu himself was more lenient, but he didn’t usually step in unless someone was reaching the breaking point. It was why he and Iruka had made such a good team, why they still did even if it wasn’t official. 

The Hanta believed in balance, the taichou and fuku-taichou were always opposites. Kotetsu was the kindness and compassion to Iruka’s iron will and devotion to the mission. The Hanta used this balance to account for every possible event, every possible action the enemy could take and their record spoke for itself. The Hanta had never failed to bring back alive those they’d been sent to rescue. Kotetsu was proud of those statistics, less proud of their records outside of that and he knew Iruka’s hesitance to resurrect the Hanta stemmed from their lack of a support system within the government. They didn’t want to risk the Inuzuka and Aburame being targeted any more then they already were, like the Uchiha had been.

Kotetsu studied Tsunade. Things were finally calming down. ANBU had Jiraya in chakra restraints but he was cooperating fully. Tsunade was checking him over while the newly arrive Ibiki asked questions. He had the same story as Neji and Asuma. No memory until the red string had been cut and no idea who or how he’d been resurrected. 

Izumo appeared, sticking to the edge of ANBU’s cordon. Kotetsu made his way over and they watched the scene play out in silence for a few moments.

“How’s Iruka?” Kotetsu broke the silence first.

Izumo shrugged, “As good as he can be. He still keeps way too much bottled up.”

“At least we don’t have to hide Naruto and Sasuke anymore, that was a giant pain.” It was a load off Kotetsu’s shoulders, there were only so many ways to scare shinobi away from an apartment building they lived in. Naruto still sucked at being sneaky, or quiet.

Kakashi hung back after he was satisfied that Jiraya was in one piece and as all right as could be expected. Tsunade was yelling at him now and Kakashi felt a small spark of happiness deep inside at her happiness, though it was thoroughly masked with annoyance. He glanced around. The damage to the Hokage’s Tower was immense, but it was still standing. The main support beam was still in place, thanks mostly to the mission desk chuunin who’d some how withstood Jiraya’s attack. Kakashi studied the scene and frowned.

Jiraya’s mind was still foggy, but it did nothing to stop the sheer joy at being alive that ran through him. Tsunade was the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen, yelling at everyone else and lecturing him at the same time. Ibiki, members of ANBU, Shizune, and a couple of jounin all peppered him with questions at once and all Jiraya could think about was all the time he’d wasted never telling Tsunade how he felt. She’d always just assumed it had been a joke when they were young and things had gone so bad so quickly that he’d just dropped it entirely. 

His last thoughts had been of her, of how he’d failed to protect her and Konohagakure. It figured that the first thing he would see when he came back was her. 

How many people got a second chance?

With his hands still in chakra restraints he grabbed Tsunade, hauled her in close and kissed her with everything he had left.

“Well that’s not exactly what I was expecting,” Izumo muttered. Kotetsu sighed. Maybe Iruka was right, all these people were crazy.

Kurenai barely concealed a squeal of glee when Jiraya grabbed Tsunade and kissed her. She might have been a highly trained jounin but she was also a romantic and she’d caught the looks Jiraya shot Tsunade when she wasn’t looking. This was long overdue and Kurenai was still high on Asuma’s return. The man in question was trying to find his footing again, sticking close by Kurenai’s side and doing his best not to jump in and get involved. Kurenai had always admired his willingness to help and watching him now, he resembled something of a lost puppy she wanted to cuddle and protect. Once things calmed down she was going to take him on a long vacation away from everything. Maybe in Mist? Konoha’s newly found friendship with Mist had opened doors for travel that had been closed for many, many years and Kurenai was itching to visit.

Maybe she could convince Kakashi and the others to take a trip too. Everyone needed a break, sometime to unwind and really relax. It would be fun. Speaking of Kakashi, Kurenai knew he was struggling to figure out where to go since the war had ended. He hadn’t said it out loud but she knew the idea of becoming the next Hokage terrified him. 

“Kakashi?” Kurenai looked around and finally found the silver haired jounin standing off to the side, staring at the floor. They wandered over.

“What’s wrong brat?” Jiraya asked, slapping him hard on the shoulder.

“A foot,” Kakashi muttered.

“What?” Tsunade could barely hear him.

“A foot, “ kakashi repeated pointing at the ground. Kotetsu’s foot prints, where he’d been standing during the fight with Jiraya. One set, from where he’d dug in and blocked Jiraya’s attempt to take down the support beam. The streak in the dust and dirt where he’d been forced back was only a foot long. “On full attack, you only managed to move him a foot.”

Silence fell. The others crowded in closer, jostling to get a better look.

“Where’d he go?” Genma glanced around. 

Kotetsu was laughing, talking to Izumo, off to the side. Clearly replaying the battle with exaggerated hand gestures designed to entertain.

“Raido, pull his file the next time you’re in the archives,” Kakashi suggested. The scarred jounin nodded in agreement.

ooo000ooo

: :Hatake Clan Compound, Konohagakure: :

The night was quiet. The moon was out and bright. The air was still. The trees stood like silent sentries outside the window and hundreds of red, glowing beady eyes glinted out from the branches and leaves.

Pakkun growled softly. 

They’d been in the trees, watching Kakashi’s apartment since the sun had begun to fade. The Hatake Family summons had taken notice immediately. Pakkun couldn’t smell anything out of the ordinary, even though he had the best nose of the group. None of them had been able to pick out shapes or forms; whatever was watching them was using an advanced form of concealment. A jutsu Pakkun couldn’t detect.

“Hey boss,” Aki’s voice was soft as he joined the small pug.

“What?” Pakkun was not in the mood. Someone spying on Kakashi’s home made him protective. The fact that he couldn’t figure out who or what it was made him angry.

“No sign of anything.” Aki’s voice was soft.

There were minute traces of chakra, but they were spread out and didn’t seem to form any kind of coherent pattern or jutsu.

The tree branches shifted, leaves fluttering. 

There was no wind.

Pakkun growled softly.

A pair of beady red eyes advanced toward the window, flashing in and out of sight as whatever they were attached to moved in and out of the leaves.

Pakkun stepped closer to the window, growling as the others joined him.

Excited chittering broke the silence. 

“What are they?” Uhei hissed.

“Someone should go get Kakashi,” Bull murmured.

“No,” Guruko put a paw down, “You can already feel that he’s going through an emotional time.”

“Something is happening in the Hokage’s Tower,” Aki agreed.

“Leave him be, we can handle this,” Bisuke remarked.

The red eyes advanced closer.

The Hatake family summons moved to the window, noses pressed firmly against the glass.

The moon was bright and full. 

A small squirrel leapt off the branch and landed on the windowsill outside.

“Damn squirrel’s in the way,” Shiba growled.

Pakkun blinked, then narrowed his eyes. 

The squirrel stared at them through the glass. It pressed its face and tiny paws against the glass and peered inside.

Guruko growled, “Scram rodent.”

The squirrel cocked his head to the side, nose twitching in time with its bushy tail. 

The minute chakra signatures that had been driving their senses crazy suddenly started to gather at the window.

“What?” Bisuke’s eyes widened.

The squirrel’s eyes turned a bloody, glowing red. Dozens more squirrels appeared on the branches and in the trees behind it. They’re shapes suddenly clear in the crisp moonlight.

“It’s them,” Aki growled as another squirrel suddenly crawled along the seal of the window and picked the lock on the latch. Before any of the ninken could react a single squirrel slipped inside and was suddenly loose in Kakashi’s room.

“Get it!” Bisuke roared and they leapt after it. The chase that followed resulted in the destruction of most of Kakashi’s property. The squirrel was small, agile and Kakashi’s ninken tripped over their own feet trying to catch it in the small room. The bed, the nightstand, and the mirror were destroyed. Aki knocked the door half way off it’s hinges lunging after the squirrel and Bisuke sent the chair flying into the wall, where it shattered into a dozen pieces.

In the midst of the chaotic melee Mr. Uki, sitting innocently on the windowsill, was knocked from his perch and died a violent, shattering death when he hit the floor.

Pakkun immediately rushed to the shattered remains of the plant and it’s pot. Kakashi adored that plant, the last gift he’d ever received from Obito. He’d kept it alive for years with an almost obsessive drive.

The squirrel paused on the windowsill, looking down at the mess and Pakkun. It cocked its head to the side. Pakkun snarled. The squirrel disappeared out the window. Bisuke hit the sill a second to late and landed on Pakkun and what was left of Mr. Uki. 

The squirrel leapt to safety among the trees and it’s cohorts. Pakkun would have sworn up and down that it smirked at them before disappearing into the darkness.

Kakashi opened the front door to the compound. 

The ninken froze. 

“Oh no,” Aki whimpered, as they looked around and realized how much damage had been done.

“What happened to the door?” Kakashi sounded angry and already exhausted. The ninken could feel the misery radiating through his chakra and the guilt was immediate.

“Wait, don’t come in here yet boss! We were just cleaning up!” Pakkun tried as the others rushed around desperately trying to clear the mess.

Kakashi kicked the door the rest of the way off the sole hinge still holding it up. He took one step into the room and stopped, staring in disbelief. “What the hell happened?”

Pakkun subtly shifted in front of the remains of Mr. Uki.

“They came through the window boss,” Bisuke tried to explain.

“Who?” Kakashi demanded. His bed was destroyed, so was the chair he’d gotten on a mission in Snow Country. He loved that chair.

“The squirrels!” Shiba explained.

Kakashi studied Pakkun suspiciously, eyes narrowed. “Pakkun, move.”

“Now look, boss,” Pakkun tried, desperate to save Kakashi from even more pain. “You don’t need to see this. Go sleep in the guest room tonight while we clean this up.”

Kakashi’s face turned stormy. “Move.”

Pakkun debated, whatever had happened at the Hokage’s Tower had clearly made Kakashi into nothing but a raw nerve. The hurt was palpable. As much as he wanted to avoid adding to it, he also realized it would be even worse if Kakashi found out later.

Pakkun stepped aside and watched Kakashi’s face fall at the sight of Mr. Uki.

Kakashi kneeled silently next to the remains of the plant, gently picking up what was left. He knew it was stupid, that it was just a plant. But that plant was the last and only gift he’d ever received from Obito. They’d been teammates, if they’d had more time together they might have been friends eventually, but back then Kakashi had been young and stupid and not ready to value anything but his own strength. Obito had at least been smart enough to try, despite the fact that Kakashi hadn’t been all that receptive. Mr. Uki was a reminder that someone had cared about Kakashi, even when he’d been a useless angry child. Even when they hadn’t gotten along. He was reminder of the ideals that his father had died for and now he was dead.

“Boss,” Pakkun started, only to be silenced by the furious expression on Kakashi’s face.

“What happened?” Kakashi demanded.

“There’s something going on,” Pakkun explained, “There were dozens of them in the trees surrounding the compound. They were spying on us. One of them got inside, we tried to stop it.”

“Stop what?” There was a distinct air of bloodlust behind Kakashi’s words.

Pakkun hesitated, “The squirrels.”

Kakashi’s face darkened. The killing aura rolling off him made Pakkun step back. Though the pug wasn’t actually worried that Kakashi would hurt him, it was still intimidating.

“Boss, we’re not lying,” Aki tried to help.

Kakashi wasn’t hearing it. “Squirrels, that’s the best you could come up with?”

“Boss,” Aki tried to inch closer to the jounin but Kakashi backed away making her whimper. The jounin turned stiffly and stormed out of the room.

The ninken watched him go silently, heavy with guilt.

Kakashi went to bed furious. His ninken were acting like dogs.

ooo000ooo

Tsunade let the door slam shut behind her and let out a bone deep, weary sigh. Jiraya was under the care of the doctors at the hospital, he’d be checked out and released the next day provided she hadn’t done any internal damage unintentionally. 

He’d also kissed her and it had been the best kiss she’d had in years. Damn it, what the hell had that been?

She drapped her robes over the chair and winced when she caught a look at her own face. No wonder ANBU had hung around. She had a deep bruise on one cheek and nicely swollen black eye. Her hair was a mess, half falling out and she was covered in dirt. She looked like hell and she felt worse. 

Jiraya was back. Deep down she was more ecstatic then she would ever admit out loud, but she was also terrified. Who had the power to bring back Jiraya? 

She rinsed off quickly as she pondered the connection and slipped into her sleeping robes without bothering to brush her hair.

She caught sight of it out of the corner of her eye. A small faded, dust covered edge of paper, the same garish orange as Naruto’s old jumpsuit. It was underneath the nightstand that had been in the room since before Sandaime’s time in office. No Hokage had bothered to get rid of it. It was just within her reach from the bed, or she might not have bothered with it until morning. She recognized the Sandaime’s handwriting on the envelop immediately.

It was addressed to her.

She tore it open.

ooo000ooo

….to be continued…

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter turned out to be a teaser more then anything else, but the next one is on its way! Let me know what you think!


End file.
